

..MM 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Cliap.i0-SCX^opyriglit No 
Slielf.A..t4-l^ 



> 



UNITED SJATES OF AMERICA. 






vStV'''':J.r<^ 









IZAAK WALTON HOUSE, 

CLAYTON. N. Y. 

THOUSAND ISLANDS RIVER ST. LAWRENCE. 

Ode of the best and most popular houses iu Clayton or on the 
River. Complete in all appointmentr,. Commodious, well iHr- 
nished rooms. Cuisine a standard of excellence. 

250 FEET OF PIAZZA FRONTING THE RIVER. 

Walton House Annex contains several comfortable F'anuly 
Apartments, affording all the advantages of a Summer Resort, -with 
quiet surroundings. Reasonable Rates. Address 

T. M. ESSELSTYN, Manager. 



! Jsatts* jB-v.. 





'S^;: 



i'.M. 



THE ROUTES 



PURSUED BY 



THE EXCURSION STEAMERS 



UPON THE 



ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 



CLAYTON AND GANANOQUE TO WESTMINSTER 

PARK AND ALEXANDRIA BA V 

^^ ^t OF rn.,„ ^ 



PUBLISHED BY 

JNO. A. HADDOCK AND J. H. DURHAM 

CLAYTON AND ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 




PRINTED AND BOUND BY 

WEED-PARSONS PRINTING COMPANY 
Albany, N. Y. 



Copyrighted, 1895. 
All rigxits reserved. 






\ 



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, / 



/ 




Co tl;e "Rambler. 



.rT"^v,HIS little book is not 
written with the idea 
that it wiU take the 
place of more pretentious guide 
books, nor as a history of The 
Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River; nor yet is it written 
especially in the interest of any steamboat company, nor of any 
particular route; but solely to point out to the visitor such places of 
interest among the islands as are most worthy of attention, and the 
means by which they may be reached. In addition, what may be 
termed side routes or excursions have been pointed out, which if 
taken will add largely to the interest of a summer tour in and 
around the St. Lawrence River region. 

Believing, also, that incidents which have occurred so long ago 
among and in the vicinity of the Thousand Islands as to have be- 
come history, will add much to its interest, a brief sketch of each 
is reproduced, and the locality in which it took place pointed out. 

The writer claims no originality in these sketches. They have been 
drawn from the best attainable sources, re- written and condensed 
to suit the scope of the work, and the only merit the writer can 
claim, is, that he has been diligent in his researches, and in conse- 



I^ing • @|o§eph'§ • p\cpmitage. 

A charming resort, just completed and bpen to guests, 
only one-quarter of a mile from the Carthage and Adiron- 
dack line, from whence two daily trains connect with the 
Rv W. & O. system, at Carthage, seventeen miles distant. 

This Hotel commands a full view of lovely Lake 
Bonaparte and is connected with woodland scenery of 
inexpressible charm, once a part of the vast territory owned 
by Joseph Bonaparte in Northern New York. The ex-king 
had selected this ground as his hunting headquarters, and 
was heard to speak of its loveliness and beauty, and with a 
view to perpetuate this interesting and historical fact this 
resort has been so named. 

Summer guests at the St. Lawrence River would enjoy 
as a matter of diversion a short stay at King Joseph's Her- 
mitage. Guest will receive most genteel treatment at fair 
rates. For information address 

JOSEPH PAHUD, Prop., 

Harrisville, N. Y. 



The Rambler. 5 

quence has brought to light some interesting events which have 
escaped the scrutiny of those who have gleaned in the same field. 
If, therefore, through the perusal of this little manual the reader 
has added to the enjoyment of a sojourn among, or a visit to, The 
Thousand Islands, or if it has in any degree increased the pleasure 
and satisfaction of an Island Ramble, or augmented his stock of 
knowledge, the object of the work is accomplished. 

The truth is, that in these Island Rambles there is something more 
than sensuous enjoyment. They transport one to a higher plane. 
They are, in a large sense, refining. They develop a love for the 
beautiful in nature. They are, in short, promoters of a true aestheti- 
cisna. They educate, they expand, they exalt. Those who look 
often upon these scenes assimilate, unconsciously though it may be, 
many of their beauties until reaching a higher standpoint with a 
broader view, they 

" * * * Take no private road, 

But look through Nature up to Nature's God." 

Having thus, dear Rambler, set forth the " ends and aims " of this 
little book, the writer leaves it in your hands, with the earnest hope 
that it may answer every purpose for which it was originally de- 
signed 




Cornwall B. 



ORNWALL JDROTHERS, 

TICKET AGENTS, 



And General Dealers in 



DRY Q QODS, ]\ lOTlONS, Q ROCERIES, 

CROCKERY, CLOTHING, ETC. 



CAMP AND ISLAND SUPPLIES A SPECIALTY. 



Also Agents for Huyler's Candies. ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 




o* 



^\je T^ambles 



IN taking the rambles among the islands the visitor must be gov- 
erned by his or her own convenience as to time. The steamer 
Islander makes the most interesting trip, and the longest; its 
distance being in fact nearer sixty miles than the usually advertised 
fifty-mile ramble. In so doing the Islander visits some localities of 
great interest, where other excursion boats are unable to go, owing 
to a greater draught of water. This is again alluded to under 
another head. All these facts are set forth in the bills provided, and 
put into the hands of an efficient and gentlemanly corps of adver- 
tising agents. On every trip among the islands a special agent ac- 
companies the boat, who will point out every spot of interest, 
thereby largely increasing the pleasures of the occasion. 

If at any time, however, a special route is to be taken, or the 
managers have decided upon an extra trip having some special 
attraction, you may rest assured that it will be duly advertised and 
set forth ; and when such a trip is proclaimed, don't fail to examine 
this little Manual carefully ; because it is very likely that if the trip 
is within the scope of a fifty-mile ramble, it will give you some 



W. G. CHAFFEE, 



Oswego, N. Y. 




GOOD POSITIONS 



Penmanship, 



and Spanish. 
■ By Mail or Personally, and Secures 

for all his Shorthand .... 

.... Pupils when Competent. 

AGENT FOR THE 

CALIGRATH.s- 

the best Typewriter, and for the 

-s « m e o s R i!^ p H . 

the best Duplicator. 

Stenographers Furnished Business Men without charge for my Services. 
Correspondence Solicited. Circulars Free. 



W. G. CHAFFEE, 

OSWEGO, N. Y. 



The Rambler. 



interesting information in advance. In order to a clear compre- 
hension of the sights and scenes among the Islands, let us take an 
afternoon ramble, and close the day with a grand Search Light Ex- 
cursion at night on the noble steamer St. Lawrence, as a finishing 
toucli, a fitting comi^lement, a rounding out to the ramble of the day. 
We have all either seen or heard of those wonderful dioramic 
paintings, in which is portrayed a lovely landscape with wooded bills, 
turret'ed towers, flowing streams and falling cataracts, which, under 
the marvelous light of a spring morning, seem a veritable reality. 
Suddenly the scene changes ; night approaches ; day-light gradually 
disappears, and the soft May moon lights the landscape ; every harsh 
and rugged line is smoothed away, while the deep shadows lurk in 
leafy coverts ; lights sparkle and gleam from castle and tower ; the 
streams become threads of molten silver, and the cataracts draperies 
of filmy lace laden with pearls. I have no fitting language in which 
to describe the beauty of it all, but far and away above these, a day- 
Hght and Search Light ramble, taken as a 
whole, among the Thousand Islands of the 
St. Lawrence river, constitute Nature's Great 
Diorama, elsewhere unequaled on the face . 
of the globe. Even the writer of the book 
of Job, incomparable in poetic descrip- 
tion, having seen these sights, might have 
written : — 

Who, then, shall describe the beauties thereof ? 
Behold ! The language of the learned faileth and for 

his dreams the poet flndeth no utterance. 
AVhere, then, shall the understanding be found, and 

wheie is the key of Knowledge ? 
Look thou upon the brightening eye, and the enrap>- 

tured look, and thou may'st understand 
That voiceless look is elo- 
quence itself. 
And from it learn thou, that, 

like the "Music of the 

Spheres," 
The language of the faoul hath 

no words 






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Fifty Miles of Gorg-eous Scenery. 

WINGING away from the Railway 
Wharf, at Clayton, where the 
great New York Central System 
discharges its thousands of eager sight- 
seers, the steamer Islander, of the Thou- 
sand Island Steamboat Company, begins 
her magnificent ramble among the fa- 
mous island group. We touch for a mo- 
ment at the wharf of Round Island Park, with its magnificent Hotel Frontenac as a fit center- 
piece for its coastline fringe of elegant cottages. You will probably visit the " Frontenac," and 
when there, if you desire it, the clerk wUl furnish you with a list of cottage-owners, so that it 
is not necessary to take up our space with the list. " Round Island Park " is one of the most 
delightful resorts among the islands, and will well repay an extended visit. On our left is 
"Little Round Island," and beyond that lies Colborne's Island, Bluff , Jefferson, Maple and 
Robbins' Islands 




Thousand Island 
House. 



Cor. of Ontario and Brock Sts., 
KINGSTON, ONT. 



CON. MILLAN, Proprietor. 



Commodious, Comfortable, Reasonable in 
Price. 



Nearest all the Landings for Steamers, and not 
ten rods from R. R. Depot. 



Fronts the Great City Hall. Open Day 
and Nip^ht. 



Information cheerfully given. 



in the midst of the Hunting and Fishing 
Grounds of the Upper St. Lawrence. 



The Rambler. 13 

There was a ti-agedy on Maple Island in 1865, a very mysterious 
one: and it is only within two or three years that any clue to the 
mystery has been found, and even now, though circumstances seem 
to point out a reasonable solution, the evidence is incomplete, and in 
all probability the real facts in the case will never be brought to 
light. I have only space here to give you a brief outline of the main 
facts, referring you to Major John A. Haddock's "International 
Souvenir History of the Thousand Islands," where you will find full 
and complete — 

The Mystery of Maple Island. 

In the summer of 1865, in the early part of June, a stranger arrived 
at the hotel at Fisher's Landing, then kept by John Keech. He was 
from Gananoque, and had been brought over in a skiff by a well- 
known oarsman of that village, since deceased. For a few days the 
stranger contented himself at the hotel, or took short walks into 
the country, going at one time as far as Omar, a pleasant hamlet 
about a mile and a half from the Landing, or else, hiring a skiff, he 
would take a day and row about among the islands. 

Finally he one day announced his intention to have a cabin built 
on one of the islands, the better to enable him to enjoy the pastimes 
of fishing and hunting, of which he seemed to be extremely foud. 
Acting on this idea, he hired carpenters, procured lumber, bought a 
skiff witli all its accessories, and all the necessary table furniture 
and cooking utensils to enable him to " keep house," and "moved " 
into his new domicile, which was built by the side of a precipice, 
and so hidden by a thick undergrowth that it could not be seen 
from a passing skiff. He purchased his supplies from the farmers 
on a neighboring island, and having books and a violin, for he is 
said to have been quite a musician, time seemed to slip pleasantly 
away, though he admitted no one to anything like terms of familiar- 
ity, nor invited any guests to his cabin. It may be well to say, in 
passing, that he was a man seemingly about thirty years of age, 
black hair and eyes and black chin whiskers, well dressed, very un- 
communicative, dark as a Spaniard, and very restless. He had 
plenty of money, and paid his bills promptly in EngUsh gold. The 
summer passed quietly away, and but for another occurrence, the 
" Hermit,"' as people began to speak of him, would have been almost 
forgotten. ■. 



A. C. McINTYRE, 

THE 

Veteran Photographer 

OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 



ESTABLISHED 1871. 



THOUSANPS OF VieWS. 
LAReeST CA/«V6RA IN 

NORTHeRK Hew YORK. 



LiFs-LONG exreRieKce. 

FRJCeS RSASOKABLS. 



The Rambler. 15 

One night a light was seen on Maple Island, and the conclusion 
was that the hermit's cabin had caught fire; but not thinking of any 
personal danger to him, no especial attention was paid to it. It was 
thought, of course, that he would take his boat and go ashore some- 
where, either to Clayton, Grinnell's, or Fisher's Landing; but as he 
did not put in an appearance anywhere the next morning, a couple 
of fishermen went ashore on Maple Island, and there they found his 
dead body. His throat was cut, and on his naked breast there were 
three crosses slashed with a knife, the crosses being disposed in the 
form of a triangle. 

For a week before this tragedy, several men who, by their language 
and appearance were set down as Southerners, were quartered at 
different hotels in Clayton; but on that evening they had settled 
their bills, and hired some oarsmen to take them to Alexandria Bay, 
which they did. It was learned later on that they did not stay at 
Alexandria Bay that night, but no one seemed to know when they 
left, nor where they went. These facts were brought out on the 
inquest which was held, but nothing more was discovered at that 
time. A brief article in the Clayton paper. On the St. Laicrence, 
gave the above facts in substance, and from that slight clue the 
mystery is well nigh cleared up. As a starting point, the reader 
may understand that the "three crosses," cut in the form of a tri- 
angle, were a well-known sign of a secret society which flourished 
during the war, both North and South, commonly known as the 
"Knights of the Golden Circle;" and hence it is fair to presume 
that the assassins were brother " Knights " of the hermit, who were 
fulfilling their oaths by murdering him. The next question arose, 
why should they murder him? What was the cause? 

To make this story short I will just say, that certain parties were 
offered the sum of $300,000 in gold to assassinate Lincoln, Seward, 
Johnson, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and one or two other members 
of the cabinet, and a proportionate sum for as many as were assassi- 
nated. There was paid to John H. Surratt, in the Queen's Hotel in 
Toronto, $100,000 of this sum in English gold, paid to him by the 
notorious Jake Thompson, at that time an agent for the Confederacy 
in Canada. There was with John H. Surratt, at the time, John A. 
Payne, brother to the Payne who was hanged for the attempted 
assassination of Secretary Seward and his son. John A. Payne was 
the treasurer of a secret society in "Washington; Surratt and Payne 




^HE NEW WINDSOR, 

CLAYTON, N. Y. 



A NEW HOUSE. 

CENTRAL LOCATION. 

EVERY CONVENIENCE. 
PRICES REASONABLE. 

FRONTING THE GREAT RIVER. 

CUISINE SUPERIOR. 




LINLITHGOW. 



A^^i^". 



J.W.Church, Pr<?r 

^f /ooQ Isldnds. 




The above Hotel has been newly fitted and furnislied throughout 
for the season of 1895. Its rooms are large and commodious, 
well furnished, the best of beds, excellent ventilation — in short, 
ideal rooms. The table is kept supplied with all the delicacies of the 
season, well cooked, with good service. The bar is supplied with all 
the best brands of Wines and Liquors, and the best Imported Cigars. 
The House is but two minutes' walk from the Steamboat Landing, and 
one minute's walk from the Depot. Terms very reasonable. Special 
rates on application. 



TAKE NOTICE. 



When you leave the Steamer Landing, take the first crossing to 
the right hand side of the street, and the first Hotel is the American. 
Don't forget it. The best House in every respect in Gananoque 

Best Oarsmen and Guides on the river provided. 



The Rambler. 19 

left Toronto the very night the money was paid into Surratt's hands. 
We all know what became of Surratt, but what of Payne ? All the 
evidences, circumstantial though they be, point to the fact that John 
A. Payne was murdered on Maple Island, in the St. Lawrence river, 
by his brother Knights of the Golden Circle, because he failed to 
divide with them the blood money received for the assassination of 
Abraham Lincoln. I have no time nor space here to enter into 
all the facts, but when you have read in the Souvenir all the evi- 
dences which have been unearthed, you will agree with the above 
. statement. 

We now steam away toward " Grinnell's Island " and the Pullman 
House landing. Do not make the mistake that some do, and imagine 
this to be the celebrated Pullman Cottage, because it isn't ; but it is 
one of the very pleasant summer hotels on the river, and lately en- 
larged one-third in size. Glance along that narrow channel away 
to our left. It leads past the " Pahsades," a huge granite preci- 
pice on the head of Wellesley Island, and out into " Eel Bay," and 
through it a steamer plies her route every two hours to Grand View 
Park, a beautiful place next to the Canadian channel. Down yon- 
der, in the very narrowest part of the strait, between the "Pali- 
sades " and " Murray Island," there was quite a spirited naval battle 
fought once, the history of which is as follows: 

Xaval Skirmish on tlie St. Lawrence. 

On the 9th of August, 1813, the schooners Julia and Growler, be- 
coming separated from the remainder of Commodore Chauncey's 
fleet, set sail down the lake, hotly pursued by several of the English 
vessels. The Growler succeeded in making the harbor of Oswego, 
and anchored under the protection of the guns of the fort. The Julia 
held her course down the lake, with a fair wind, and being a fast 
sailer, she soon outstripped the English vessels, two of which, the 
Seneca and Simcoe, had been in close pursuit. The Julia was in 
command of Mr. Trant, the sailing master, and was armed with 
one long 32-pounder on a pivot, two long sixes, and forty men. The 
Simcoe's armament consisted of twelve guns and seventy-six men, 
and the Seneca's, four guns and forty men. Passing down the river 
until opposite French creek, Mr. Trant directed his course across the 
river through what is now known as " Robbins' Cut," the route taken 
by the splendid St. Lawrence on her search-light excursions between 



Capt. SIMEON G. JOHNSON, 

PROPRIETOR 

Steamer •; Nightingale, 



AND OP 



Tlie Clayton Shipyard. 



The Nightingale is a 95-foot Steam Pro- 
peller, making six trips each day on week 
days, and two trips on Sunday, between 
Clayton and Fine View, stopping each way 
at Round Island, Pullman's (Grand View Park) 
and Thousand Island Park. 



AN EXCELLENT BOAT, CAREFULLY 
MANAGED. 



The Rambler. 21 

Bobbins' and Grindstone islands, and out into Eel bay. Here he lay- 
to near the group of barren rocks known as " Indian Islands," just 
off Grand View Park. It was not long before his pursuers appeared, 
reinforced by another small vessel, whose name is not known. The 
Simcoe and the strange vessel entered the bay from the Canadian 
channel, while the Seneca had followed the Julia directly through 
Robbins' cut. For a few moments all was hurry and bustle on board 
the little schooner. Every sheet that would draw was set, and she 
sped away for the narrow passage between Wellesley and Hemlock 
islands, and taking up her position just off the Palisades where the 
channel begins to widen, she lowered her sails and the crew went to 
quarters. The enemy came gallantly on with a strong breeze, which 
increased in force as it sucked through the narrow passage, making 
it very difficult to retrace their way, and compelling them to follow 
each other, the narrowness of the passage preventing them from 
comingalongsideof each other, or even wearing so as to bring their 
broadsides to bear. The commander of the Julia opened fire with 
his long 33, and in a short time the Simcoe, which was in advance, 
was disabled, and her consorts were as rapidly as possible trying to 
retrace their course. Although completely at his mercy, the gallant 
commander of the Julia did not deem it prudent to attempt to take 
possession of the Simcoe, because of her greater superiority in men, 
and, besides, there was always the chance that some of the enemy's 
vessels might gain his rear ; so, deeming discretion the better part 
of valor, he gave the Simcoe a parting shot or two, and made liis es- 
cape up the river, joining the fleet on Lake Ontario. For this gal- 
lant action Mr. Trant was promoted to a lieutenancy. 

Many years ago, where the Pullman House now stands, Mr. Grin- 
nell kept one of the old time "taverns," the like of which is seldom 
found in these days, and from time to time many distinguished per- 
sonages became his guests for the sake of the hunting and fishing, 
not even excepting royalty itself, in the person of Count Surveiliers, 
alias Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Naples and of Spain. Those 
granite rocks up yonder, o'ertopped with a row of beautiful cottages, 
are named Jersey Heights. You should land here some day and 
take a look at " Grinnell " Island, and also at the new Park on the 
head of Murray Island. 

Our next stopping place is at the Thousand Island Park land- 
ing, in full view of the stately Columbia hotel, and of many of the 



MANNING & DAVIS, 



DEALERS IN FINE 



WINES, LIQUORS AND CIGARS, 

All Leading Brands of Imported and Domestic 
Ales, Lagers and Mineral Waters. 



MILWAUKEE, ROCHESTER AND ST. LOUIS LASERS ON TAP. 



We make a specialty of furnisliing Cottagers and Camping Parties 
with first class goods at fair prices. 

NEAR STEANIBOAT LANDING. 

ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 

Always the very 

BEST 

That can be had. At prices consistent with 

QUA LITY. 



The Thousand Island Meat Market, 

SAM B. MILLER, Proprietor, 
ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 



Caters to the BevSt Island Trade. 



THE BIJOU PAVILION 

THOUSAND ISLAND HOUSE, 

ALEXANDRIA BAY, N, Y. 



HEADQUARTERS FOR SOUVENIRS OF THE 
THOUSAND ISLES. 



Huyler's Candies received daily from. New York. 

Japanese G-oods. 

Wliite-Wood Sonvenirs, Vie-w Books and 

PtLotograplis. 

Indian Baskets, Canoes and Cnrionsities. 

Reading Matter of all Kinds. All tlie Latest Novels. 

AGENT FOR MAJOR HADDOCK'S GREAT "SOUVENIR OF 
THE ST, LAWRENCE RIVER." 

E. W. ESTES 



The Rambler. 25 

elegant cottages of this beautiful summer city of the St. Lawrence. 
Here are all the modern conveniences, electrical lights, water works, 
telegraph and telephone communication, a steamer for some point 
almost every hour in the day, excellent bathing, splendid fishing, 
and, in fact, an ideal summer home. I need not enter into a de- 
tailed description here, as you will find its history printed in full 
elsewhere. Directly in front of the landing are the "Lone Tree" 
and '•■ Twin " Islands. We next touch at the wharf in front of the 
"Fine View House''— one of the many pleasant hotels on the river — 
and only ten minutes walk to the Thousand Island Park. On the 
right is the pleasant little hamlet of Fisher's landing, " Occident " 
and " Orient " islands, and, a little below them, Fredericks' Islands, 
owned by a merchant of Carthage, N. Y. 

Along the shore of Wellesley Island, on our left, is a long line of 
delightful cottages, among which is "Hiawatha," the quaint cottage 
of Prof. Hoose, an eminent educator, and the group of cottages, 
"The Jolly Oaks," among which are those of Mr. J. L. Norton, a 
prominent merchant of Carthage, and Hon. W. ^Y. Butterfield, 'of 
Redwood, K Y. The next place of any special importance is " Peel 
Dock," and thereby hangs a tale ; " and here it is.* 

Burning of the Steamer " Sir Kobert Peel.»» 

Those who have kept themselves informed on matters of history 
wiU rejiiember that, on the 29th day of December, 1837, the steamer 
Caroline, an American steamboat, while lying tied to the wharf at 
Schlosser, a port on the Canadian side of the Niagara river below 
Buffalo, was boarded by a band of Canadians, robbed, set fire to, cut 
loose from her moorings, and sent burning over Niagara Falls. This 
caused great indignation throughout the country, and added much 
to the excitement consequent on the breaking out of the so-called 
Patriot war, which was, in fact, a weak rebelHon on the part of 
some dissatisfied Canadians, with which a number of United States 
citizens very foolishly took sides. The steamer Sir Robert Peel was 
new and staunch, built at Brockville only the year before, and owned 
by both Canadian and American citizens. She was sailed by Capt. 
John B. Armstrong. Starting from Prescott on the afternoon of the 



*Bear in mind, however, that until the occurrence here related took place, this 
was called " McDonnell's Wharf," and not "Peel Dock," 



Sum mer '. 'Re sort. 

thb: new 

HAY ISLAND 

HOUSE. 



In the midst of the far-famed l housand Islands 
Of the renowned River St. Lawrence. 



GANANOQUE P- O. 

ONTARIO, CANADA. 

J. DE WITTA, Proprietor. 

This Commodious Summer Resort has recently beeii enlarged and 
refitted throughout in first-class style. The House is situated ^ ot a 
mile from and commands a full view of, the old and picturesque 
Town of Gananoque, (pop. 4,000) which may be reached by tram or 
boat. The Royal Mail Line steamers, the New Island Wanderer (011 
her daily trips) and all other vessels pass closely to and m full view ot 
the House, between whicb and the Town the mam channel passes. 

The Island contains about 125 acres, there being a beautiful yard 
and grove adjoining the House. The Main Building is 84 x 30, the 
sleeping apartments 13 x 10— newly plastered— some with connecting 
doors. The Dining Rooms in a separate building. 

The Island is situated in the very midst of the famous 1000 Island 
group — over 60 of the same being in full view. The best hshing 
grounds in the River surround the Island. Oarsmen, boats and fash- 
ing outfits at reasonable rates. Splendid bathing facilities - safe for 
children. 

Terms for board and lodging, |6 per week and upwards, accord- 
ing to rooms. 

For further particulars apply to the proprietor. 



The Rambler. 27 

29th of May, 1838, she touched at Brocl'ville on hex' vay to Toronto, 
having on board a cargo and nineteen passengers. She arrived at Mc- 
Donnell's wharf at midnight to take on wood. It had been hinted 
to the captain before leaving Brockville that there was danger 
ahead, but he disregarded the warning. The passengers were asleep 
in the cabin, and the crew had almost finished their labor of taking 
on wood, when a party of twenty-two men, disguised and painted 
like Indians, and armed with muskets and bayonets, rushed on 
board, yelling like savages, and shouting, "Remember the Caro- 
line!" They drove the passengers and crew ashore, allowing but 
little time for the removal of baggage belonging to them, the most 
of which was lost. The steamer was fired in several places, and the 
party left in two boats, steering for Abel's Island, about four miles 
away, which they reached at sunrise. The ill-fated steamer sunk in 
mid-channel but a short distance below the wharf where she was 
captured, and there she now lies twenty fathoms deep, while we 
sail to and fro directly over her wreck. 

The leader of this party was William Johnston, better known to 
fame, or notoriety rather, as "Bill Johnston," a Canadian outlaw, 
around whose career, and that of his daughter Kate, the once 
famous novelist, " Ned Buntline " (E. Z. C. Judson), threw a halo of 
mystery and romance. Bill Johnston was born at Three Rivers, 
Lower Canada, February 1, 1783. His parents removed to, or near, 
Kingston, in 1784, and at the breaking out of the war of 1812, he was 
a grocer in Kingston, and a member of a military company. For 
an act of insubordination, it is said, though what was its nature is 
not now apparent, he was tried by a court martial, lodged in jail, 
and his property confiscated. Escaping thence he came to the 
States, and became the bitterest and most vindictive foe Canada 
ever had. He acted as a spy for the Americans during the wax of 
1813-15, robbed the British mails, and committed every depredation 
possible upon Canada and Canadians. After the burning of the Sir 
Robert Peel, he was outlawed by both the United States and Cana- 
dian governments, who tried in every way possible to effect his cap- 
ture ; but his hiding places were so numerous, and so many were his 
personal friends, that, with the aid of his daughter Kate, who kept 
him supplied with food, which she took to him in the dead of night 
in her skiff alone, and with news of his enemies, also, that they suc- 
ceeded in capturing hini but twice, both of which times he escaped ' 



ECHO LODGE, 

THOUSAND ISLANDS. 



This new Summer Resort is situated in tlie very- 
heart of the Thousand Islands, in a beautiful, secluded 
and picturesque spot near the celebrated "Fiddler's Elbow," 
in view of the "Lost Channel" and within speaking 
distance of the famous "Echo Rock." Fishing and 
Scenery are acknowledged to be the grandest on the 
River St. Lawrence. 

Conveyance meets all trains at Lansdowne Station, 
G. T. R. ; only a few minutes drive and easily accessible 
by boat from Alexandria Bay, Rockport, Kingston and 
Gananoque. 

Those requiring rest, seclusion, and home comforts 
will do well to write for particulars to 

O. L. POTTER, Proprietor, 

ivy' lea p. C, ONTARIO. 



REASONABLE RATES BY THE WEEK. 



Steamer ' ' Princess Louise, ' ' from Kingston, calls at 
Echo lyodge every Friday and Saturday, leaving Kingston 
at 4.00 P. M. 




Thousand Islands, 



St. Lawrence River. 



JEFFERSON HOUSE, Alexandria Bay, N. Y. 



Z. Bigness, Proprietor. 



R. H. Service, Clerk. 



Enlarged and Refurnished throughout. First-class Bar with Restaurant 
attached. Everything New. Good Barn Accommodations. Rates, $2.00 per 
day, 50 cents a meal. 



The Rambler. 31 

though if the stories told of his hair-breadth escapes, whether true 
or not, were written down, they would fill a book. Finally, when 
matters became quiet, he returned to his home in Clayton, and in 
time was appointed keeper of the Rock Island light, whose rays 
illumine the very spot over which once shone the light of the burning 
steamer Sir Robert Peel. 

On our left, as we leave Peel Dock, is a lovely little wliite cottage 
on "Island Kate," the residence of the late Mrs. Tomlinson, of 
Watertown, N. Y. In a short time we swing out from the main 
channel and pass, on our left, the miniature "Island of St. Helena," 
with its batteries of Quaker guns. The surface of the island, curi- 
ously enough, is almost a/oc simile of St. Plelena itself; and so the 
genial owner, H. Stillman, Esq., of Oswego, has utilized the idea, 
and thus Ave have every prominent poiut located, even to the tomb 
of Napoleon. If there were only a miniature Napoleon on the 
island, with a miniature Sir Hudson Lowe for his jailer, the illusion 
would be complete. On our right is "St. Lawrence (formerly Cent- 
ral) Park." Here is a fine hotel, and a group of beautiful summer 
homes, owned by Rev, Richmond K. Fisk, Ayers, Mass.; C. W. 
Hackett, of Utica, N. Y.; Hon. Charles R. Skinner, of Albany, State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction; J. F. Moffet, Hon. B. B. Tag- 
gart, W. G. Williams, Judge P. C. Williams, and H. F. Ingiehart, 
all of Watertown, N. Y. 

We touch, for a moment, at " Point Vivian," a collection of beauti- 
ful cottages on the mainland, and then away for Alexandria Bay. 

On our left is " Hill Crest" and " Shady Covert," the property of 
B. J. Maycock, of Buffalo. On our right we approach "Wild Rose 
Island," the property of Hon. W. G. Rose, of Cleveland, O., which 
is connected with "Gypsy," owned by J. M. Curtis of the same city, 
by a beautiful bridge of a single span, not a "bridge of sighs," but 
a bridge of joys. Opposite, Gen. Van Patten, of Claverack-on-the^ 
Hudson, has a fine location, and then comes "Seven Isles," the 
beautiful summer liome of Gen. Bradley Winslow, of Watertown, 
N. Y. ; " Louisiana Point," owned by the late Judge Labatte, of New 
Orleans, and the beautiful cottage, known as ' ' Lambie Point," owned 
by the Messrs. Lambie," of Theresa, N. Y. 

We now approach the lower channel group, leaving "Bell Vista," 
"Nehmabin," "Comfort" and " Greystone Villa" on our left, pass- 
ing " Wauwinet," " Keewaydin " and " Cuba," and now the steamer. 





HOTEL FRONTENAC 

KINGSTON, CANADA. 



Opens on June loth to October ist for 

Summer Tourists. 

Special rates for Parties during the Summer 

Months. 



Rates, $2.50 to $3.50. 



THOS. CRATE, Proprietor. 



The Rambler. 33 

with a square turn to the left, runs so close to the " Devils Oven" 
that you can almost touch it, and then heads toward " Castle Eest.'" 
On the left it raay be that the visitor will again this season greet 
the " Red Cross," the summer home of one of the grandest women 
of the age, the Florence Nightingale of America, ]Miss Clara Barton, 
of Washington, D. C. To the soldier, wounded and dying, slie was 




devil's oven. 

an angel of hope. To the earthquake and tornado-stricken people of 
the South, she was an angel of relief ; and to the stricken, every- 
where, whether by war, famine or pestilence, she was an angel of 
Mercy; she has won the applause of nations and the admu-ation of 
the world. In the midst of destitution, disease and death she has 
borne the sacred emblem to the reUef of thousands, and no one has 
a better right than she to exclaim, ' ' In hoc signo vinces ! " Let us 
rejoice that she is an American woman, and, because of her grand 



THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST BOATS 
ON THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. 
ELEGANTLY FURNISHED WITH ALL 
MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. WILL 
CARRY COMFORTABLY 24 PEOPLE. 
CAN BE CHARTERED BY THE DAY OR 
SEASON ON REASONABLE TERMS. 
HAVE FOR SALE THE 

CELEBRATED ST. UWRESCE HtVEB SKIFFS, 

OF MY OWN MAKE. I HAVE OVER 
30 YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN BOAT- 
BUILDING. CALL AND SEE MY 
BOATS, IT IS NO TROUBLE TO SHOW 
THEM. 

Capt. JOHN H. DINGMAN, 

ALEXANDRIA BAY, N. Y. 



The Rambler. 



35 



efforts in the cause of humanity, accord to her, that which she has 
BO nobly won, our highest admiration and respect. 

Then comes the summer camp of Rev. Royal Pullman, and " Hope- 
well Hall," the property of W. C. Browning, of New York; " Castle 
Rest " the minature of Ehrenbreitstein, one of the old castles on the 
Rhine, and then, in succession, come: "Friendly," E. W. Dewey, 
New York; "Nobby," H. R. Heath, New York; "St. Ehno," N. W. 
Hunt, Brooklvn, N. Y. ; " Welcome," S. G. Pope, Ogdensburg, N. Y.; 
"Felseneck," Prof. Hopkins, HamQton College; "Linlithgow," Mrs. 




NOBBY ISIJA^nD. 



Robert Livingston, New York; "Florence," H. S. Chandler, New 
York; "Isle Imperial," Mr. Raflferty, Pittsburg, Pa. These are 
among the Central, or Bay group, and now we swing to the wharf at 
Alexandria Bay, with its elegant hotels — the Metropolis of the 
Thousand Islands. 

But we must on with our trip. As we swing out into the stream 
and head away on our course, we leave " Bonny Castle," the property 
of Mrs. J. G. Holland. This was the favorite summer home of that 
gifted author and editor, Dr. James G. Holland, whose name is a 
household word, and whose fame is world-wide, and whose death 



The Rambler. 37 

was a national loss, because he was one of our most gifted authors. 
To the world of letters his loss was irreparable. On our left is " Man- 
hattan," thought by many to be the most beautiful island in the 
river, owned by Judge J. C. Spencer, of New York; " St. John's," 
Judge Clias. Donahue, of New York; " Fairyland," with its three 
beautiful villas, belonging to the Messrs. Hayden, of Columbus, O., 
and "Huguenot," the summer home of L. Hasbrouck, of Ogdens- 
burg, N. Y. Down the main channel, at our right, is " Resort Is- 
land," owned by W. J. Lewis, of Pittsburg, Pa., and along the main- 
land are : " Long Branch," owned by Mrs. Clark, of Watertown, N. 
Y. ; "Point Marguerite," the summer home of the late Edward 
Anthony, of New York ; " The Ledges," C. J. Hudson, New York. 

The Tweed Ring-. 

Close on our right is " Deer Island," as it was once called, now 
"Pine Island," "Old Picnic Island" and "Lotus Land." Pine 
Island was at one time the summer resort of the famous "Tweed 
Ring," of New York, away back in 1870. That was when the now 
magnificent Crossmon House was only a plain country tavern, 
though always a good one. Mrs. Crossmon, the honored mother of 
the present genial proprietor, well remembers baking " Boston brown 
bread " for them, and many citizens of Alexandria Bay remember 
well the "high old jinks" held by the gang on their visits to the 
river. Who was the gang ? Just glance at the list : The three first, 
WiUiam M. Tweed, Hank Smith and William R. Stewart, were the 
"bosses." They concocted the schemes, and the others carried them 
into effect. Here was Foster Dewey, Tweed's private secretary; 
Andrew J. Garvey, Cornelius Carson, Boss Tweed's confidential clerk; 
Peter B. Sweeney and Dick Cornell, and then there was a lot of sub- 
lieutenants besides. Up here, they styled themselves the " Medicus 
Club," and " bad medicine" they were too, though judging from the 
fact that they doctored New York city to the amount of $27,000,000^ 
the name was very appropriate. 

We now bear away to the right, leaving " Pine Island," " Old Pic- 
nic" and " Lotus Land " on our right, and enter the " Friendly " or 
"' Boundary Group." This is one of the loveliest scenes on the whole 
river, and we sail through its very midst. Here are " Little Lehigh," 
"Sport," "Idlewild," "Summerland" and "Arcadia" islands, on 



^5 




The Rambler. 



39 



which are the heautiful cottages of Messrs. W. A. , R. H. and E. P. Wil- 
bur, all of Bethlehem, Pa.; Mrs. R. H. Eggleston, New York; S. A. 
Briggs, of New York, and a group of Rochester families. You wUl 
acknowledge that this view alone is worth taking the afternoon 
ramble to see, and it is only one of the Thousand Island Steamboat 
Company's boats, either the Islander or America, that can pass 

through this group. ,. , , . ^ 

On leaving it, we head away toward " Rockport," a little hamlet 
on the Canadian mainland, passing on our starboard, or right-hand 
side the head of " Geenadier " Island, with its red -capped Canadian 
Light-house, "Little Grenadier," "Doctor" and "Star" islands. 
The latter was formerly called " Tar" Island, but the addition of a 
single letter has done wonders for it. Gen. Bradley Winslow, of 
Watertown, N. Y., has a fine farm on Star Island. His elegant cot- 
tage was burned in 1892. It is one of the most sightly and romantic 
spots on the river. At our left is Westminster Park, a beautiful re- 
sort at the foot of WeUesley Island, as the Thousand Island Park is 
at its head, and at the foot of "Hill" Island, the charming villa, 
with its tasteful surroundings, of D. F. Fairchild, of Leavenworth, 
Kansas, classicaUy named Fairjoline. A ferry pUes hourly between 
Westminster Park and Alexandria Bay, and from tliis point a narrow 
passage leads into Lake "Waterloo," its outlet in fact, a trip to which, 
as I have already advised, you should not fail to take. 

On our right comes the little Canadian hamlet of Rockport, and on 
our left is " Club Island " on which are the beautiful summer homes 
of Mrs. F. Taylor, of New York, and Jacob A. Skinner, Esq., of 
Newark, N. J Then comes "Echo Point." of which we will get 
auricular demonstration, if the steam holds out. Just opposite us, 
and about midway of this palisade of granite rock, is an Indian 
painting, easily distinguishable from the deck of a smaUer boat that 
can run close enough in. It represents a wild animal in the act of 
leaping upon a warrior, though it would require a label to tell us 
what species of animal was intended. 

Through what scenes of nature's own loveUness we have just 
passed ! They have been the theme of writers innumerable, and 
poets have exhausted the power of song in their praise. It was here 
that Tom Moore, in 1803, only a year previous to his death, was in- 
spired by the goddess of song, which a few days later found vent in 
that magnificent poem : 




POPULAR BAY AND HOTEL WESTMINSTER. 



The Rambler. 41 

" Faintly as tolls the evening chime, 

Our voices kept tune, and our oars keep time; 

Soon as the woods on shore look dim 

We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn . 
Row, brothers, row; the stream runs fast, 
The rapids are near, and the daylight is pa3£. 

" Why should we yet our sail unf m-1 ? 

There is not a breath the blue wave to curl I 

But when the wind blows off the shore, 

Oh! Sweetly we'll rest on our weary oar. 

E3W, brothers, row; the stream runs fast, 
The rapids are near, and the daylight's past. 

" Utawa's tide! This trembling moon 

Shall see us float o'er thy surges soon. 

Saint of this green isle! Hear our prayer. 

Oh! grant us cool heavens and favoring air. 
Blow, breezes, blow; the stream runs fast, 
The rapids are near, and the daylight is past." 

But the most beautiful tribute to the Thousand Islands ever writ- 
ten must be awarded to one of Canada's own poets, Joseph Octave 
Cremazie. His poem was published in " Histoire de la Litt^rature 
Canadienne," in 1850, and again in 18G0, by M. Larean, Vol. II, page 
107. I can only find room for a translation of two stanzas : 

' • When Eve plucked Death from the Tree of Life, and brought 
tears and sorrow upon the Earth, Adam was driven out into the 
world to mourn with her, and taste of the bitter spring that we drink 
from to-day. 

"Then Angels on their wings bore the silent Eden to the Eternal 
Spheres on high, and placed it in the Heavens — but in passing 
through space, they dropped along the way, to mark their course, 
some flowers from the Garden Divine. These flowers of changing 
hue, falling into the Great Eiver, became the Thousand Islands — 
the Paradise of the St. Lawrence." 

Next comes the widely known " Lost Channel," and in justice to 
one of the best pilots on the St. Lawrence river, the man who above 
all others originated these " Island Rambles," Capt. Visgar, of Alex- 
andria Bay, I must accord a generous meed of praise, because no 
man better deserves it. 

Early comprehending the fact that this group of islands, situated 
comparatively near to Alexandria Bay, which was destined to be- 



1:2 



The Rambler. 



come the metropo- 
lis of the Thousand 
Islands, would at- 
tract the attention 
of large numbers of 
visitors and tourists, 
he began to turn his attention to the 
means for gratifying their very laudable 
curiosity, and scored a grand success. And 
so, to Capt. Visgar alone belongs the honor 
of having explored the different channels, and 
led the way through the most intricate windings 
of these delightful archipelagoes of the noble 
St. Lawrence. 
On one occasion, while passing through a difficult 
channel below and a little to the right of the Fid- 
dler's Elbow as we go down the river, a correspondent 
of the New York Tribune, who was on board, called out : 
"Captain! what is the name of this channel ? " Captain 
Visgar, busy at the wheel, and fully occupied in seeing 
that his boat passed safely through the difficult passage, and not car- 
ing to be disturbed at a critical moment, answered: " This, sir, is the 
Lost Channel." The reporter " took down " the answer, and in due 
time the Tribune had a lurid description of the Thousand Islands, 
and a thrilling account of the passage of the ' ' Lost Channel. " 

Just there was where Captain Visgar " builded better than he 
knew; " for while the "Lost Channel " became an object of curiosity 
far and wide, and a trip through it something to be desired, not one 
visitor out of a thousand was aware of the fact that it had a history 
which went back a hundred and thirty-five years, and yet such is 
the case. I will give it as briefly as possible, referring you to Major 
Haddock's admirable Souvenir History of the Thousand Islands for a 
more elaborate account. 




History of the Lost Channel. 

During the French and English war, which began in 1755 and 
ended in 1760, an expedition was fitted out at Oawego, in August of 
the latter year, for the final subjugation of the Canadas. The only 



The Rambler. 43 

remaining strongholds of the French were Montreal, and a strong 
fort on an island in the St. Lawrence river, about three miles below 
the present city of Ogdensburg, known as Fort Levis, commanded 
by a distinguished French officer — Capt. Pouchot. The expedition 
consisted of 10,143 British regulars and Colonial troops from Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Among the 
Massachusetts troops was Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, 
then a lieutenant-colonel. In addition to these troops, there was a 
force of about 1,000 Indians, under the command of Sir William 
Johnson. The commander of the expedition was Gen. Jeffrey 
Amherst, the second in command being Gen. Gage, of Boston fame. 
At that time the English had two armed vessels on Lake Ontario, 
the Onondaga and the MohawJc, commanded by Capt. John Loring, 
as Admiral of the fleet, which consisted of the two vessels, 177 
batteaux and 73 whale boats, besides staff boats, hospital boats, and 
boats for sutler's use. The first detachment of troops sailed in the 
two vessels, on the 7th of August, for the rendezvous at "Basin 
Harbor," Grenadier Island, at the head of the St. Lawrence river. 
On the 13th, the entire army were assembled on the island, and early 
on the morning of the 14th the entire expedition set forth. Capt. 
Loring, with the two vessels, had gone ahead, and instead of keeping 
straight down the South channel, he crossed just below the foot of 
Wolfe Island into the Canadian channel. The French had been 
expecting an attack from this direction for a whole year; and, in 
consequence, had kept a lookout on Carleton Island, from which 
point they could readily see when the British forces entered the 
river; and with swift war canoes they could easily convey the intel- 
ligence to the fort below. When Capt. Loring had fairly entered 
the Navy group, he was assailed on every hand. The islands seemed 
to swarm with French and Indians, who were raking his decks with 
musketry. To add to his discomfiture, he knew nothing of the 
river nor of the labyrinth of islands in which he found himself; 
but, lowering away a boat and crew, he sent them back to prevent 
the Mohawk from entering the island group; and manning his guns, 
he swept the islands around him with grape and cannister, as he 
drifted with the current, he knew not whither. Fortunately, he got 
safely clear of the islands, when, coming to an anchor, he sent two 
other boats to find the first one sent out, but they returned unsuc- 
cessful; nor could they even distinguish which of the channels was 
the one in which the first boat was lowered. They never saw boat 



44 The Rambler. 

nor crew again; and ever afterward, in speaking of it, they called it 
the "Place of the Lost Channel." Two or three years later, the 
crew of a batteau found a broken yawl boat bearing the name 
" Onondaga," at the head of one of the channels, which, since that 
time, has been known as the " Lost Channel," and which Capt. 
Visgar so happily renamed. The probability is that the crew of the 
yawl boat were killed and scalped by the Indians, and their boat 
stove and sunk; and, after all, we have no absolute certainty that 
this, more than any other of the numerous channels on every hand, 
was the one in which Capt. Loring first lowered his yawl boat. All 
that Capt. Loring's journal says about that part of it is the simple 
statement that they " called it the place of the lost channel." 

Next in order is the little island called " Fiddler's Elbow." Why 
this island was so named is accounted for in two ways. One is, that 
it used to be a great camping place for the crews of batteaux long 
before the day of steamers on the river, and that usually there was 
a fiddler among them who furnished music for their rude dances. 
The other is that a shrewd old river pilot who used to bring his pas- 
sengers to view this group of islands, took care to have a venerable 
old fiddler, who lived in a shanty near by, always on hand and play- 
ing for dear life when the boat passed. Then, again, the shape of 
the island suggests the crook in a fiddler's elbow. You may suit 
yourself as to the hypotheses. 

Swinging to the left we pass " Ash Island" on our right and reach 
' ' Lyndock Light." Away to our left is " Boundary Channel," which 
leads into " Lake Waterloo," or, as it is commonly known, the "Lake 
of the Island," a place you should not fail to visit. Passing these 
we head away through the Halstead Bay group; leaving " Anderson's 
Camp" on our right and "Smoke Island" on our left, we enter 
' ' Halstead's Bay, " and direct our course for Gananoque. 

The lower end of Halstead's Bay terminates in a long arm, which 
extends for some distance inland. Here ai'e the "Indian Rocks" 
and " Horseblock Point." On a precipice which forms a part of the 
point, there was clearly visible only a few years ago some aboriginal 
paintings, representing a hunting scene, but by whom painted no 
one could tell; even the tribes which were here when the white man 
first came, knew nothing of their origin. To-day but little is to be 
seen of them, though under a favorable light it is said that the out- 
lines are vet to be distinguished. 



The Rambler. 45 

There is another way through this labyrinth of islands that is, if 
possible, more interesting than this. It takes us nearer to the Cana- 
dian shore, running close into ''Ivy's Mills," past ''Champagne 
Point" and through a beautiful net- work of little islands, bringing 
us out again at the head of the Lost Channel. The steamer 
" Islander" sometimes makes a special trip through those channels, 
and if the opportunity occurs, you should not fail to see that part of 
the group, for the " Islander" is a superior boat, well officered. 

On our left now is "Stone Island," "McDonald's" and "Sugar" 
islands, and a beautiful group of smaU islands near the shore of 
Grindstone Island. But we push on to Jackstraw light and prepare- 
to stop at Gananoque. This is a busy manufacturing village and will 
well repay a visit of some hours. I forgot to tell you that the large 
group of islands, through which we have just passed, is called the 
' ' Navy " group, and that the group through which we are about to 
pass is called the " Admiralty " group, and from the fact that the 
Canadian islands are known by numbers instead of names, it is not 
easy to designate them clearly; but so far as they have become pri- 
vate property, they are named, and those, to some extent, we will 
point out. 

As we swing out from the wharf at Gananoque, Tidd's island, on 
which is a lovely summer resort, is at our left, and to our right is 
"Hog" island. At "Dorsdale," R. Forsyth, Esq., of Montreal, 
spends his vacation; Rev. Prof. Mowat, of Queen's College, Kingston, 
is at "Riverview," and Prof. Coleman, of Victoria College, Coburg, 
Ont. , makes " "Weidenf eldt " his summer home ; Mr. Camp, of 
Toronto, owns "Idlewild," and then conaes the cottages of C. E. 
Britton, Esq., and Dr. A. N. Kincaid, both prominent citizens of 
Gananoque. On our left, again, J. Findley, Esq., of Montreal, occu- 
pies " Round Island," and on the right is the cottage of Rev. J. Allen, 
of Coburg, Ont. Then comes "Sylvan Isle," J. L. Uphani, Esq., of 
Brockville, Ont. 

On our left the cottages, in succession, are: "Camp Iroquois," 
Mr. Wallace, of Boston; " Roseneath ViUa," Jas. Richmond, Esq., 
of Kingston; "Channel View," Jno.Turcotte, Esq.; "The Castle," 
Prof. N. F. Dupuis, of Queens College ; on our right, " Burnt Island" 
light, and on our left is " Boss Dick Island." The beautiful group, 
through which we have just past, is Bostwick channel, one of the 
finest among the island groups. 



The Rambler. 47 



Station Island. 

You have, no doubt, read that thrilling tale of Fenimore Cooper's, 
" The Pathfinder." It so, you will remember the episode of 
"Station Island," its description, how it was situated, and for 
what purpose it was garrisoned. Cooper, in ' ' The Pathfinder," 
makes no attempt to locate the island. He only relates some his- 
torical facts connected with it, and gives us a minute description of 
it. The time described was during the French and English war of 
1755-60. At that time the English held Oswego, while the French 
had control of the lakes with a strong fort at Frontenac, now Kings- 
ton, and a detachment at Gananoque. The French received their 
supplies from Montreal in batteaux which came up the river in de- 
tachments, numbering ten or more batteaux each. The English kept 
spies on the lookout for the arrival of these convoys of stores and 
provisions with a view to their capture. To that end "Station 
Island " had been fixed upon as a suitable place for a rendezvous 
from which to waylay the expected fleet of batteaux. It was to 
protect this fleet that a party of French and Indians had been sta- 
tioned at Gananoque. 

Now what are the historical facts ? First, the French posts were 
supplied from Montreal by means of batteaux ; second, the British 
troops attempted to, and did at various times, capture some of theses 
batteaux with their stores ; third, that the British had some hiding 
place among the islands, from which they sallied forth and made 
their captures, if possible. Now it is evident that this very group 
of islands would be the one chosen for such a hiding place for several 
reasons. First, it was nearer Oswego; second, the chances of recap- 
ture were lessened; third, the opportunity of watching the approach 
of a fleet of batteaux unseen. If the hiding place had been chosen 
in the Lower or Naval group, the chances of a recapture would have 
been materially increased. Now how was "Station Island" situ- 
ated ? So that a look-ont could be kept on the river below ; so that 
the French post on the main land could be watched ; so that the 
island itself could hardly be distinguished from those by which it 
was surrounded. One island in this group fulfils the conditions, and 
there is not another among all the Thousand Islands that does; and 
hence the presumption that the island is here, and that it borders on 
Bostwick channel. To one who is fond of exploration it will be a 



48 The Rambler. 

half day's pleasure to search it out, and then if you fail to find it, ask 
the guide on the steamer. During the war of 1812, Gananoque was 
the scene of a daring assault on the part of a detachment of Ameri- 
can troops from Sacket's Harbor, the particulars of which are as 
follows : 

^Expedition Against Gananoque. 

On the night of the 20th of September, 1812, Gen. Brown dispatched 
Capt. Benjamin Forsyth with a force of ninety -five men, from Sack- 
et's Harbor, with a view of capturing some ammunition, of which 
his troops stood greatly in need. Capt. Forsyth and his men landed 
at a point about two miles above the village, and at daylight began 
their march on the place. When about half way they were met by 
two horsemen, one of whom was shot, and the other escaped and 
gave the alarm. A force of 110 men at once opposed the advance of 
the Americans. Halting within a hundred yards of the English line 
of battle, Capt. Forsyth ordered his men to fire a volley, and charge. 
The order was obeyed, and the British were driven back with a loss 
of several killed and wounded and a dozen prisoners. The spoils 
were 3,000 ball cartridges, and forty-one muskets. Not having boats 
to take them away, 150 barrels of provisions were burned, as also was 
the King's Store. It was only the next year that the British had 
their revenge out of Capt. Forsyth, for they whipped him badly at 
Ogdensburg. 

Swinging around toward the completion of our grand circle, we 
reach the group of islands at the head of Grindstone Island. On our 
right the largest of the group is " Hickory Island." It was on this 
island that the so-called " Patriots" made a stand in the winter of 
1837. They had collected a strong force, and were amply provisioned, 
but without a leader, order or discipline, — simply a mob. On the 
approach of a small force from Kingston, with a piece of light artil- 
lery, they fled without firing a shot, leaving the most of their stores 
behind. It was a perfect stampede ; and to use the language of an 
eye witness : "I wouldn't wonder if some of them were running 
yet." 

On the left are "Coral" and "Club" islands, on the former of 
which is the beautiful Japanese Villa, owned by Mr. C. Wolfe. Other 
cottages are owned by Thomas Thatcher, Esq. , of Boston; Mrs. Moore, 
Harry Morgan and Bryant Lindley, Esqs., all of New York. 



The Rambler. 



49 



We now head away for Clayton, passing through the Blanket 
shoals, and leaving Bartlet's Point on our right, and "Governor" 
and "Calumet" islands to our left, on the latter of which is the 
elegant -palace-cottage belonging to Chas. G. Emory, Esq., of New 
York. Bartlet's Point is now called "Prospect Park." It was first 
named Bartlet's Point, because a man of that name settled there in 
1801 and ran a ferry to Gananoque. It is said of him that he set his 
house on fire and ran away by the light of it. Away yonder to 
our right you see that a bridge spans the outlet of French creek, a con- 




ONE OF THE FOLGER STEAMERS. 



siderable stream that flows into the bay here; just above that bridge 
once stood an Iroquois fort, or rather a Huron fort, which was cap- 
tured from them by one of the Iroquois tribes — the Oneidas. That 
must have been fully 200 years ago. The creek was called by the 
Indians Weteringhea Guentere. But there was quite a skirmish there 
in 1813, when the American troops under Gen. Brown, being the ad- 



50 The Rambler. 

vance of that ill-fated expedition under Wilkinson, which was so 
badly whipped by the British at Chrysler's farm only a few weeks 
later, was attacked by a British force. The following is a brief his- 
tory of the affair, which you can read at your leisure: 

The Battle of French Creek. 

Gen. Jacob Brown, commanding the advance of Gen. Wilkinson's 
expedition, arrived at French Creek on the evening of October 30, 
1813, and. on the next day crossed a part of his command to the 
opposite shore, and awaited an expected attack. By his direction. 
Capt. McPherson, of the U. S. Light Artillery, had erected a battery 
on Bartlet's Point and mounted three long eighteen pounders. From 
his elevated position, Capt. McPherson could command the entrance 
to the bay and pretty effectually shell the entire peninsula on which 
the village of Clayton now stands. 

On the evening of November 1st, the attack was made by a fleet 
of two schooners, two brigs, and several boats loaded with troops. 
The first attempt was made upon Capt. McPherson's battery, but the 
guns were so well served, and so accurate was their fire, that the 
vessels were soon forced to drop down the river, beyond the range 
of the battery. The next morning the attack was renewed. The 
troops were landed on the peninsula, below where the village now 
stands, and marched across to the attack. In the meantime, For- 
syth's riflemen had been deployed in the woods as skirmishers, and 
met the advancing troops with a galling fire, which threw them into 
confusion. Simultaneously with the landing of the troops, the 
vessels again attacked the battery on Bartlet's Point, but with less 
success than at first. Three of them were so disabled in a few 
minutes that they were glad to drift down the river and out of 
range; and the fourth, deeming discretion the better part of valor, 
withdrew. The troops, seeing their vessels disabled, made a pre- 
cipitate retreat, and thus ended the battle of French Creek. 

And now, dear Rambler, we have completed a circle of nearly if 
not quite sixty miles in circumference, and arrived at our starting 
point. The thing now to do is to round out the day by taking the 
Search Light ramble to-night, a description of which you will find 
in another place. 



The Rambler. 51 

The Search Light. 

For this trip we board the steamer St. Lawrence, for the reason 
that it has the most powerful Search Light on the river, and was the 
first to bring these fascinating trips into popular notice, and is be- 
sides the largest steamer on the river that gives these Search Light 
excursions on so grand a scale. There are other considerations, too, 
which you will note as you go along, not the least of which is the 
fact that the science of electricity has made these trips a nightly pos- 
sibility, because of the element of absolute safety that it has brought 
into play. Before the Search Light came, a night trip among the 
river archipelagoes was an aflfair of moonlight. No pilot, however 
skillful, cared to thread the tortuous channels in a moonless night. 
Now, the situation is changed. A cool-headed captain and a careful 
mate and skillful wheelsman, with an expert electrician, as the 
steamer St. Lawrence always has, and barring accidents which no 
man can foresee, a trip among the islands on a night of inky black- 
ness is as safe as an easy chair at home. Skill and science united 
have reduced danger to a mere nothing. 

As before, we board the steamer at Alexandria Bay, and start up 
the river. First on one shore and then on the other, the Search 
Light sends a flood of radiance that illumines every spot it touches, 
as with the glare of a noonday sun; camp and cottage, leafy covert 
and rocky glen, all stand revealed. Here a flood of light reveals 
happy groups on porch and balcony of hotel and cottage, and there 
a leafy covert becomes a bower of brilliancy, while eerie shadows 
dark as Erebus flee away into inky depths. It is a succession of 
transformation scenes never equaled elsewhere. 

Touching at all points on our way up the river, we stop for a 
short time at Clayton and then head away across the river for the 
passage^ between Grindstone Island on our left, and " Bobbins' " 
Island on our right, known as " Robbins' Cut." All the way up the 
river we have been greeted with rockets and red fire, and even now 
they have not ceased. Passing "Calumet Island," on our left, we 
approach a jolly camp on Grindstone Island, where cheers and fire- 
works seem to spring forth spontaneously; and then on we go 
through the long narrow channel, lighted alternately from side to 
side, and out into the broad waters of " Eel Bay," passing "Point 
Angier," "Elephant Rock," "Picnic" and "Squaw" Points on our 



52 The Rambler. 

left, and then swinging off toward the lights in the "Grand View 
Park " Hotel. A place, by the way, well worth a visit. On our 
right as we speed along is a group of but little more than bare rocks, 
known as "Robinson's" or "Indian" Islands. Should we be 
signaled, we will stop a moment at Grand View Park, but if not we 
head away for "Lyndock" Light at the entrance to the "Navy" 
group and so down i^ast the "Fiddler's Elbow," on through the 
group past Echo Point, past Rockport, and across through the Bay 
Group and home to Alexandria Bay, in good time for bed, or for the 
"hop "at the hotel; just as we feel inclined. Reader, our regular 
rambles are ended, and now with your kind permission I will sug- 
gest, without entering into any special description, a few 

Other Trips. 

I have already hinted that a trip to " Ivy's Mills," and among the 
beautiful islands bordering that part of the mainla,nd, is a very de- 
sirable one. It is true that, as yet, no regular trip has been estab- 
lished through this part of the Navy Group, but the time is not far 
distant when the demands of sightseers will be complied with and 
new ramble routes opened, and, among them all, this divergence 
from the present route will be very popular because of its beauty. 

The trip through " Boundary Channel," and to "Waterloo Lake," 
should not be forgotten, especially the latter. Until the steamboat 
companies provide for a regular trip to these places, you can always 
charter a small steam yacht, with a competent pilot, to explore 
them. The better plan is to make up a jDarty; and in this way the 
cost of the trip is not great, and if a fine day be chosen, it cannot 
fail to be one of great pleasure. 

Another pleasant side trip is to " Goose Bay," and the beautiful 
island group — " Dinkelspiel" — at its entrance. " Cranberry Creek," 
which was the scene of quite a sharp skirmish during the war of 
1812, flows into Goose Bay. I give you a brief sketch of the affair, 
hoping that it may not be entirely devoid of interest. 

Battle of Cranberry Creek. 

This was one of the most stirring affairs that took place among the 
Thousand Islands during the war of 1812-14; and seems to be the 
only case on record where a deputy collector of a port exercised 
the authority to grant letters of marque; but such is the fact in this 



The Rambler. 53 

case, and whether there are other instauces of a lite nature remains 
to be seen. 

Be that as it may, on the 14th of July, 1813, two armed boats, the 
Fox and Neptune, the latter a private craft, armed with one 6-pounder 
and a swivel, the former a government boat, left Sacket's Harbor 
under letters of marque, issued by the deputy collector of the dis- 
trict. The Neptune was manned by twenty-four volunteers, under 
the command of Capt. Samuel Dixon, and the Fox, commanded by 
Capt. Dimmock, by twenty-one men of the Twenty-first Infantry, 
under Lieutenants Burbank and Perry, and a detachment of the 
Forsyth Rifles, under Lieut. Hawkins and Sergt. James. 

The expedition was fitted out by Marinus W. Gilbert, of Water- 
town, with the object of cutting off a detachment of the enemy's 
boats, which were expected to arrive up the river about this time, 
laden with stores. The two boats touched at Cape Vincent on their 
way down the river, and made a short halt at French Creek, now 
Clayton, and then pushed on to Cranberry Creek, where they held a 
review, put their boats ih complete order, examined and cleaned 
their arms, and then sent forward an express to Ogdensburg for in- 
telligence. At five o'clock in the afternoon of the second day the 
looked-for intelligence came, and at nine o'clock that night the two 
boats left the creek and pulled across the river into the Canadian 
channel, and at four o'clock in the morning they discovered a brig- 
ade of the enemy's batteaux lying at "Simmon's Landing," under 
the protection of His Majesty's gunboat Spitfire, just ready to pro- 
ceed to Kingston. 

Pushing rapidly to the shore. Lieutenant Perry with Sergeant 
James and twenty-seven men landed to cut off their retreat, while 
Captain Dixon, with Lieutenant Burbank and the remainder of the 
men took possession of the batteaux and gunboat. So complete was 
the surprise, that the fifteen batteaux and the gunboat with their 
crews, were captured without a single shot being fired on either 
side, and by nine o'clock in the morning they were safe in Cranberry 
Creek again, and Lieutenant Burbank started at once for Sacket's 
Harbor, with a detachment of fifteen men and sixty-nine prisoners. 

In the meantime news had reached Kingston and a force was sent 
to recapture the gunboat and batteaux, consisting of four gunboats, 
and the Earl of Moira, an eighteen -gun brig; and on the morning 
of the 21st, just as the rising sun tipped with gold the island sum- 



5i The Rambler. 

mits, the four gunboats manned with 250 men were discovered 
entering Goose Bay and making their way to the mouth of the creek. 

Thirty men met them and gallantly disputed their landing, while 
twenty more took up a position from which they could successfully 
dispute their further advance; and in the meantime the six-pounder 
opened a rapid and galling fire which seriously disabled two of the 
British gunboats, the crews turning their attention to plugging the 
shot-holes in them. In a short time the enemy retired to the boats 
and after pulling beyond gunshot, sent in a flag of truce demanding 
a surrender to " stop the effusion of blood," which was answered by 
an advance of our men, and reopening the fire on the gunboats, 
when they hurriedly retreated, and the battle of Cranberry Creek 
was over. The casualties on our side were two men killed and one 
wounded, w^hile the British loss is, by their own authorities admitted 
to have been twelve killed and sevei'al wounded, besides the loss of 
Captain Milnes, a gallant officer, and aid-de-camp to the " Commander 
of the Forces." 

The capture was of great value, but owing to the fact that some of 
the batteaux were hurriedly sunk without oi'ders, it proved to be an 
unprofitable expedition to its promoters. The lading of the batteaux 
consisted of 270 barrels of pork and 270 bags of hard bread, most 
of which were scattered and wasted in some way; at all events they 
failed to reach Sacket's Harbor, although the expedition returned 
safely, meeting its only mishap when rounding Tibbett's Point; it 
was fired upon by the Earl of Moira, and though someVf the boats 
were struck by her shot, they all escaped. 

There is another pleasant trip to be taken, which leads us down 
along the American shore and through a fine group of islands in 
"Chippewa Bay," the largest of which is "Oak" Island, formerly 
known as "Indian Hut " Island. As long ago as when Count Fron- 
tenac was the commander of the French forces in Canada, an Indian, 
familiarly known as the Quaker, because of his peaceful proclivities, 
obtained a grant from the count, of this island; and with a number 
of families of his tribe, made a considerable settlement upon it. He 
had been much among the French and was extremely fond of imi- 
tating their courtly manners, though his efforts to do so were, at 
times, extremely ludicrous. He affected all the airs and graces of 
Count Frontenac himself, and regarded the Indian settlers on his island 
in the light of subjects over whom he exercised a mild sovereignty. 



The Rambler. 55 

His aboriginal lordship was too fond of the " fire-water," however, 
and so he sold his domain one day for a jug of rum, but he retained 
a life lease, and continued to play the sovereign until King Death 
preferred his claim and ended the lease. There are beautiful cot- 
tages on some of these islands, and more will be erected in the near 
future. The little hamlet of Chippewa Bay was visited by a British 
force from Canada during the war of 1813, but it retired without do- 
ing any great damage. This part of the Thousand Islands is well 
worth seeing, and though as yet none of the steamboat managers 
have rhade any special provision for visitors to travel this route, it is 
one that ere long the traveling public will demand to see, and then 
it will not belong before the means are provided. 

From Chippewa Bay, we steam directly across the river, passing 
over the scene of a naval engagement in 1813, between the American 
schooner Julia, and the British schooner Earl, in which the 
Julia got the worst of it and fled to Ogdensburg. It was on the 
same spot, also, that the Bi'itish, under General Amherst, in 1760, 
captured a French brig. On our way, we pass Cedar, Dark and 
Corn Islands, and a beautiful group named respectively. Pearl, 
Cherry, Narrow, Little, Suma, and Tent Islands. Close to the 
Canadian shore is Chimney Island, on which at one time there were 
fortifications; probably during the War of 1812. Turning up stream 
we pass inside of ' ' Grenadier " Island, and find hidden away there 
another beautiful cluster of islands, the principal ones of which are 
Pooles, Senecals, and O'Neils. It is along this shore that a writer 
has laid the scene of an interesting tale, entitled the "Witch of 
Plum Hollow," founded on an old legend of the vicinity. Passing 
out into the main channel at the head of Grenadier Island, we steam 
away for Alexandria Bay, having had one of the most enjoyable 
trips on the river. 

Fort Haldiniand. 

The ruins of this very elaborate fortification are situated on a bluff 
at the head of Carleton Island, about eleven miles above Clayton, 
and in the middle of the American Channel. This fort was erected 
by the British. It was begun in 1778, the next year after the sur- 
render of Burgoyne at Saratoga. For some years, it was the most 
important military and naval station on the St. Lawrence river, or 
on the lakes even, above Montreal. There are some of the old bar- 



56 The Rambler. 

rack chimnies yet standing, and the earth- works are very distinct, 
while the ditch, which was cut in the limestone rock, is the same as 
ever. The outer parapet and glacis have been much damaged by 
the removal of the stone of which they were built. The places of the 
garrison well, the magazines, the bastions and salients are distinct and 
easily located. This island played an important part in the war of 
the Revolution. Here was the home of the noted Thayendanegea, 
alias Joseph Brandt, the chief of the Six Nations. It was from this 
island that the expeditions against Wyoming, Cherry Valley, and 
Fort Edward, bloody massacres all, were sent out. The -fort was 
built after the plans of Lieut. Twiss, Burgoyne's chief engineer, 
who afterward became Lieutenant-Gen eral Twiss, the greatest mili- 
tary engineer Great Britain ever had; and by him the fortification 
was named Fort Haldimand, in honor of Gen. Sir Frederick Haldi- 
mand, under whose orders the fort was built, and who at that time 
was commander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces in Canada. At the 
same time, the name of the island was changed from " Deer" Island 
to " Carleton" Island, in honor of Sir Guy Carleton, afterward Lord 
Dorchester. Under the cliff on which the ruins of the old fort are 
situated is a beautiful peninsula with a lovely bay on either hand. 
During the British occupation this was called " Government Point;" 
and was given up to the use exclusively of the naval officers and 
artificers. 'There was a large shipyard on the Point, and many ves- 
sels of war and gunboats were built there. > 

Now, the "Government Point" of those days is- occupied by the 
grounds of the Utica Club and several private cottages, one of which, 
Capt. Wyckoff's, of the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict, of 
New York, is one of the finest and costliest on the river. It is up 
here, too, where the best black-bass fishing in the world is to be had. 

Kingston. 

Of course you will not fail to board that most magnificent of river 
steamers the "Empire State," for a visit to Kingston, the Fort 
Frontenac of the French. There are many places of interest in 
Kingston well worth a visit. To an American, unacquainted with 
Canadian cities, Kingston has a series of surprises in store, and a day 
or two may be profitably spent there. Fort Henry, the Military Col- 
lege, the Artillery Barracks, on the site of Old Fort Frontenac, the 
Cathedral, the Dominion Penitentiary, the Insane Asylum, and a 



The Rambler. 



51 



round trip on the Electric Railway — which last enables you to see the 
niost in the least time — are among the interesting points to be visited, 
and if your stay is limited, take the Electric Railway trip by all 
means ; because it describes a complete circle through all the best 
portions of the city 

Special Trips. 

Several times, during the season, one or another of the elegant 
steamers of the Thousand Island Steamboat Company, will make a 
special excursion to Morrisburg, a quaint but pleasant Canadian 




THE DITCH AT FOET HALDIMAND. 



town, about twenty miles below Ogdensburg. During this trip tTje 
steamer i'uns the " Galloup Rapid" and the " Rapide du Plat." Be- 
low Ogdensburg, and on the opposite side of the river, is the Old 
Windmill, made famous during the so-called Patriot war of '37, 
though why called "Patriot" does not appear so cleai'ly, and still 
lower down is " Chimney Island," on which are the remains of Fort 
Levis, the last stronghold of the French on the St. Lawrence, and 
taken by Gen. Jeffrey Lord Amherst in 1760. You will find this a 
very interesting excursion and one you cannot afford to miss. 



58 The Rambler. 

" Picton, " and the " Lake on the Mountain." 

This is another special trip afforded by the Thousand Island Steam- 
boat Company several times during the season. Not only does the 
tourist, on this trip, experience the pleasure of viewing the delight- 
fully romantic scenery of the " Bay of Quinte," and a visit to one of 
its pleasantest villages, but he vpill have the pleasure of inspecting 
one of the greatest natural phenomena knovs^n to this or any other 
country. The " Lake on the Mountain " has attracted the attention 
of scientists from every part of the civilized world. It is a huge 
spring, widening out to the dimensions of a pond, situated upon the 
summit of a ridge which lies between Lake Ontario and "Bay de 
Quinte," and more than a hundred feet above either. I have not 
the exact figures within reach, but my impression is that the ' ' Lake " 
is over 150 feet higher than the level of Lake Ontario. Be that as it 
may, it furnishes a constant supply of water sufficient to propel a 
large amount of machinery, and never fails. It is really worth a 
visit for itself alone, without the other jjleasant features of the trip 
as an accompaniment. 

I might suggest other special trips to you, but they would take me 
beyond the original scope of this booklet. In describing to you the 
trips among the Islands, it is very probable that I have made some 
errors, either of omission or commission ; and if it be so, it is really 
not to be wondered at, because I have written almost entirely from 
memory. Then, too, new places are springing up; new cottages 
are in process of erection every summer, and new names are 
adopted ; so that what may be correct this season, may be wrong 
the next. However, what ia wrong in this edition will be gladly 
set right in the next, for we expect to keep pace with the times 
and seasons. 

Li'Envoi. 

And now, dear Rambler, we have spent some pleasant hours in our 
excursions together, and I hope we may spend many more ; and 
when toward life's close we look back to the many enjoyments 
experienced among the beautiful scenery of the Thousand Islands, 
let us hope that not a single regret will cast its shadow across the 
bright retrospect. To me, these rambles are always pleasant, and 
if I have added a mite to the sum total of your enjoyment, I am con- 
tent. Au revoir ! 



The Rambler. 59 

Island Directory. 

The following is a late revised list of islands and points, with their 
owners' names, from Clayton to Goose Bay, on the American side: 

Cement Point, head of Grindstone Island, owned by W. F. Ford 
and others. 

Goose Island, two acres, owned by E. S. Brooks, Brooklyn. 

Hen Island, one-half acre, owned by W. F. Morgan, New York. 

Davitts' Island, one-quarter acre, owned by H. G. Davitts, New 
York. 

Carroll Island, two acres, owned by Jas. A. Cheney, Syracuse. 

Boscobel Island, one-half acre, owned by G. S. Hopkins, Kansas. 

Bluff Island, tw^enty acres, owned by E. B. Washburn, New York. 

Clinton Islar(,d, No. 1, fifteen acres, owned by N. S. Seely, New York. 

Clinton Island, No. 2, three acres, owned by N. S. Seely, New York. 

Governor's Island, owned by Chas. G. Emery, New York. 

Calumet, owned by Chas. G. Emery, New York. 

Etheridge, head of Round Island, owned by Dr. Geo. D. Whalen, 
Syracuse. 

Shady Ledge, foot of Round Island, owned by Frank R. Taylor, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 

Brooklyn Heights, foot of Round Island, ownad by C. S. Johnson, 
Brooklyn. 

Long Rock, one acre, owned by W. F. Wilson, Watertown. 

Hemlock Island, twenty acres, owned by W. F. Porter and W. F. 
Wilson, Watertown. 

Stewart, or Jeffers, Island, ten acres, owned by E. P. Gardiner and 
twelve others, Syracuse, and other places. 

Two in Eel Bay, two acres, owned by Dr. E. L. Sargent, Watertown. 

Twin Islands, one acre, owned by J. L. Huntington, Theresa. 

Watch Island, one acre, owned by S. F. Skinner, New York. 

Occident and Orient, three acres, owned by E. N. Robinson, New 
York. 

Isle of Pines, two acres, owned by Mrs. E. N. Robinson, New York. 

Frederick Island, two acres, owned by C. L. Frederick, Carthage. 

Bay Side, one acre, owned by H. F. Mosher, Watertown. 

Riverside, mainland, one acre, owned by J. C. Lee, Gouverneur. 

Killain Point, mainland, one acre, owned by Mr. Killian, Lockport, 
N. Y. 



60 ■ The Rambler. 

Holloway Point, mainland, one acre, owned -by N. Holloway, 
Omar, N. Y. 

Fisher's Landing, mainland, two acres, owned by Mrs. R. Gunn, 
Omar, N. Y. 

Island Home, one acre,, owned by Mrs. S. D. Hungerfoi'd, Adams, 
N. Y. 

Harmony, one-quarter acre, owned by Mrs. Burger, Syracuse. 

Waving Branches, on Wells' Island, owned by D. C. Graham and 
nine others. 

Bonnie Eyrie, on Wells' Island, owned by Mrs. Peck, Boonville, 
N. Y. 

Throop's Dock, on Wells' Island, owned by Drs. C. E. and D. S. J. 
Latimer, New York. 

Jolly Oaks, on Wells' Island, twenty acres, owned by Prof. A, H. 
Brown and four others. 

Blanch Island, ten acres, owned by Mrs. A. M. Kenyon, Water- 
town. 

Josephine, twenty acres, owned by Mrs. A. M. Kenyon, Water- 
town. 

Craig Side, Wells' Island, owned by H. A. Laughlin, Pittsburg, Pa. 

Covert Point, Wells' Island, owned by B. J. Maycock, Buffalo. 

Calumet Island, one-half acre, owned by Oliver H. Green, Boston. 

Van Patten, one acre, owned by Gen. J. B. Van Patten, Claverack, 
N. Y. 

Point Vivian, mainland, ten acres, owned by R. Toyer and ten others. 

Lindress, one acre, owned by John Lindress, Jersey City. 

Isle Royal, one acre, owned by R. E. Deane, New York. 

Cedar Island, one acre, owned by J. M. Curtis, Cleveland, O. 

Wild Rose, one acre, owned by Hon. W. G. Rose, Cleveland, O. 

Alleghany Point, mainland, one acre, owned by J. S. Laney, Pa 

Plato, two acres, owned by H. R. Heath, Brooklyn. 

Seven Isles, five acres, owned by Gen. Bradley Winslow, Water 
town. 

Louisiana Point, Well's Island, three acres, owned by Hon. D. C 
Labatt, New Orleans. 

Bella Vista Lodge, mainland, five acres, Wm. Chisholm, Cleve 
land, O. 

Neh Mahbin Island, two acres, owned by James H. Oliphant 
Brooklyn. 



The Rambler. 61 

Comfort Island, two acres, owned by A. E. Clark, Chicago. 

Warner's Island, one acre, owned by Mrs. H. H. Warner, Rochester. 

Wanwinet Island, one-half acre, owned by C. E. Hill, Chicago. 

Kewaydin, owned by J. W. Jackson, Plainfield, N. J. 

Cuba, one acre, owned by M. Chauncey , Brooklyn. 

Devil's Oven, one acre, owned by H. R. Heath, Brooklyn. 

Sunny side. Cherry Island, five acres. Rev. George Rockwell, Tarry- 
town. 

Melrose Lodge, Cherry Island, owned by A. B. Pullman estate, 
Chicago. 

Ingieside, Cherry Island, owned by Mrs. G. B. Marsh, Cliicago. 

Stuyvesant Lodge, Cherry Island, owned by J. T. Easton, Brooklyn. 

Safe Point, Wells' Island, four acres. Rev. R. H. Pullman, Balti- 
more. 

Pullman Island, three acres, owned by Geo. M. Pullman, Chicago. 

Nobby Island, three acres, owned by H. R. Heath, Brooklyn. 

Little Angel, one-quarter acre, owned by W. A. Angell, Chicago. 

Edgewood Park, thirty acres, owned by S. W. Sessions, Cleve- 
land, O. 

Edgewood Point, one acre, owned by G. C. Martin, Watertown. 

West View, one acre, owned by S. G. Pope, Ogdensburg. 

Welcome, one acre, owned by S. G. Pope, Ogdensburg. 

Friendly Island, three acres, owned by E. W. Dewey, New York. 

Linlithgow, one-half acre, owned by Mrs. R. A. Livingston, New 
York. 

Florence, two acres, owned by H. S. Chandler, New York. 

St. Elmo, three acres, owned by N. W. Hunt, Brooklyn. 

Felseneck, owned by Prof. A. G. Hopkins, Clinton, N. Y. 

Point Lookout, one acre, owned by Miss S. J. Bullock, Adams. 

Vilula Point, one-half acre, owned by Capt. F. Dana. 

Isle Imperial, one acre, owned by G. T. Rafferty, Pittsburg. 

Fern Island, one acre, owned by J. Winslow, Watertown. 

Hart's Island, five acres, owned by E. K. Hart's estate, Albion, 
N. Y. 

Deshler, fifteen acres, owned by W. G. Deshler. Columbus, O. 

Netts, one acre, owned by Wm. B. Hayden, Columbus, O. 

Bonny Castle, fifteen acres, owned by Mrs. J. G. Holland, New 
York. 

Crescent Cottage, ten acres, owned by B. Van Wagoner, New York. 



62 The Rambler. 

Point Marguerite, thirty acres, owned by Mrs. E. Anthony, New 
York. 

The Ledges, owned by Mrs. C. J. Hudson, New York. 

Long Branch, ten acres, owned by Mrs. C. E, Clark, Watertown. 

Manhattan Island, five acres, owned by Hon. J. C. Spencer, New 
York. 

Maple Island, six acrea, owned by John L. Hasbrouck, New York. 

St. John Island, six acres, owned by Hon. Charles O'Donohue, 
New York. 

Fairyland Island, twenty acres, owned by Charles and William B. 
Hayden, Columbus, O. 

Little Fraud Island, one-half acre, owned by R. H. Pease, New 
York. 

Huguenot Island, two acres, owned by L. Hasbrouck, Ogdensburg. 

Resort Island, three acres, owned by W. J. Lewis, Pittsburg. 

Deer Island, twenty acres, owned by Geo. D. Miller, New York. 

Island Mary, two acres, owned by Geo. A. Lance, Watertown. 

Walton Island, seven acres, owned by N. J. Robinson, New York. 

Idlewild, four acres, owned by Mrs. R. A. Packer, Sayre, Pa. 

Sport Island, four acres, owned by E. P. Wilbur, Mauch Chunk, Pa. 

Little Lehigh, one acre, owned by R. H. Wilbur, Bethlehem, Pa. 

Summer Side, two acres, owned by W. Stevenson, Sayre, Pa. 

Summerland, ten acres, owned by Summerland Association, Roch- 
ester. 

Arcadia and Ina Islands, five acres, owned by S. A. Briggs, New 
York. 

Spuyten Duyvel, one acre, owned by Alice P. Sargent, New York. 

Douglass, five acres, owned by Douglas Miller, New York. 

Kit Grafton, one-half acre, owned by Mrs. S. L. George,Watertown. 

Lookout, two acres, owned by Thos. H. Bordin, New York. 

Ella, one-half acre, owned by R. E. Hungerford, Watertown. 

Little Charm, one quarter acre, owned by Mrs. F. W. Barker, 
Alexandria Bay. 

Frost, two acres, owned by Mrs. S. L. Frost, Watertown. 

Excelsior Group, five acres, owned by C. S. Goodwin, New York. 

Sylvan and Moss Islands, three acres, owned by S. T. Woolworth, 
Watertown. 

Elephant Rock, one-quarter acre, owned by T. C. Chittenden, 
Watertown. 



The Rambler. 63 

Sunbeam Group, one acre, owned by A. B. Phelan. 
Alice, two acres, owned by Col. A. J. Casse, New York. 
Schooner, six acres, owned by J. N. Whitehouse, New York. 



List of Post-offlces Among the Thousand Islands, dur- 
ing the Season. 

Thurso; Grindstone Island. 

Clayton. 

Round Island (summer only). 

Grinnell's (summer only). 

Thousand Island Park. 

Fisher's Landing. 

St. Lawrence Park (summer only). 

Point Vivian (summer only). 

Westminster Park (summer only). 

Alexandria Bay. 

Grand View Park (summer only). 



Table of distances from Alexandria Bay. 

To Montreal 148 miles To Riverview 20 miles 

To Ogdensburg 36 " To Carleton Island ... 33 

ToMorristown 24 " To Cape Vincent.. ... 28 

To Brockville 24 " To Gananoque 19 

To Kingston . 34 



To Chippewa Bay. . . . 


12 


To Point Vivian 


2 


To St. Lawrence Park 


3 


To Fine View 


6 


ToT. L Park 


7 


To Fishers' Landing. . 


7 


To Pullman House . . . 


n 


To Grand View Park 


12 


To Round Island . ... 


10 


To Clayton 


12 


To Prospect Park 


12 



To New York 356 

To Boston 839 

To Philadelphia 447 

To Saratoga 239 

To Chicago 812 

To Niagara FaUs ..... 298 

To Toronto 185 

To Syracuse 123 

To Utica 119 

To Rochester 213 



64 The Rambler. 



A few "Doii'ts" for Excursionists. 

Don't be in too great a hurry, you will get along easier. 

Don't rush to get on board the steamer until the passengers are 
off, and then you can get on board without rushing. 

Don't push, and jam, and crowd, either in going ashore or aboard ; 
you only hinder and delay. 

Don't stop to gossip on the gang-plank, it blocks the passage and 
delays others. 

Don't act as though you thought that other people had no rights 
which you were bound to respect. 

Don't act as though you belong to the genus Sus, lest people 
believe it. 

Don't crowd to the forward j)art of the boat ; the after part passes 
the same objects of interest. 

Don't stand up, so that those back of you can see nothing — it is 
extremely ill mannered. 

Don't try to gather in all the easy chairs just for your party — it 
looks selfish. 

Don't be continually grumbling, you annoy others and do yourself 
no good. 

Don't be too critical about the running of the boat ; in all proba- 
bility, those who have charge of it are as well informed in regard to 
their business as you are. 

Don't berate an employe, because of some fault you think the 
company has committed — it is inconsistent. 

Don't fail to treat others with that consideration with which you 
would like to have them treat you, and then all will go well. 

You have often heard it said that such a one " could be a gentle- 
man, if he chose ; " you may rest assured that if any one can be a 
gentleman (or lady) he or she is pretty certain to be one; so, when on 
an excursion don't be anything else, lest people thinking that you 
can be but ivill not ; attribute your actions to pure and unadulterated 
"cussedness," and treat you accordingly. 



The Rambler. ^ 65 

Canada's West Point. 

With a frontier extending across a continent, bordering on a na- 
tion from which several hostile raids on behalf of " Irish Independ- 
ence " have taken place, and v^dth a half breed and Indian population 
in her own northwest, which has on two occasions broken out into 
open rebellion, Canada finds it necessary to maintain the nucleus of 
a military force, which shall be available on short notice to defend 
her frontier or to put down rebellion. She cannot afford to main- 
tain a standing army, but she has three batteries of artillery on per- 
manent service, and a cavalry school, four infantry schools, and one 
mounted-infantry school, at which the ofiicers and non-commissioned 
officers of the Volunteer Militia may receive such a training as will 
fit them to take command and give instruction to the volunteers, 
who, taken from the field or workshop, would otherwise be wholly 
untrained and undisciplined.' 

But while her volunteers have given a good account of themselves 
when occasion called them into active service, and while her schools 
of military instruction have been the means of placing good officers 
at their head, it was felt that something more was needed to com- 
plete the system, and accordingly the Parliament of Canada, in 1874, 
passed an act authorizing the establishment of a Royal Military Col- 
lege "for the purpose," as the act states, "of imparting a complete 
education in all branches of military tactics, fortification, engineer- 
ing and general scientific knowledge in subjects connected with and 
necessary to a thorough knowledge of the military profession, and 
for qualifying officers for command and for staff appointments." 

In selecting a site for the college the government naturally turned 
its eyes to three places which were specially adapted for the purpose 
by virtue of their historical associations and the possession of ex,- 
tensive fortifications which might be utilized for technical training. 
These were Halifax, Quebec and Kingston. The latter was ulti- 
mately chosen, for, in addition to being the most central, it possessed 
certain buildings which could be utilized. 

After the conquest of Canada, Kingston, the site of Fort Frontenac, 
built in 1673 by the French commander, after whom it was named, 
became a military post of great importance. During the war of 1813 
it was the British naval station for the lakes. A dockyard was es- 
tablished on a low pi'omonitory which juts out between the Cataraqui 



66 The Rambler. 

river and a small inlet of the St. Lawrence called Navy Bay. At this 
dockyard Sir James Yeo built his fleet for Lake Ontario. After the 
war the dockyard was dismantled, but a large three-story stone 
building remained, known as the Stone Frigate, which had been occu- 
pied by the marines. This, with a large blacksmith shop close by, 
was utilized for the college. [See buildings at left center of picture.] 

In 1876. the first classes were opened, eighteen cadets being admit- 
ted. The staff consisted of a commandant, a captain and three pro- 
fessors. As the classes grew, more accommodation was required, 
and a large building, of the grey limestone for which Kingston is 
famous, was added. It contains offices, reading and me«s-rooms, 
library, class-rooms, laboratory, hospital, and kitchen. The Stone 
Frigate became a dormitory, and the blacksmith shop was converted 
into a well-equipped gymnasium. 

The main building faces a spacious parade ground, with tennis 
lawn and cricket ground, and opposite, on the point, is Fort Freder- 
ick, a battery which guards the entrance to the harbor, with a mar- 
tello tower at its apex. 

Though modeled after Woolwich, the college is intended to give 
the cadets a training which will fit them for civil as well as military 
life. The course, which is four years, though jjrovision is made for 
a two years' course in certain subjects, embraces English, French, 
drawing, mathematics and mechanics, engineering, surveying, forti- 
fication, architecture, astronomy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, 
physics, electricity, tactics and strategy, signaling, military law and 
administration, military drill, gymnastics, fencing, swimming and 
riding. A few of these subjects are voluntary, but most of them 
are obligatory, A rigorous examination has to be passed by candi- 
dates for entrance, and if more reach the minimum than can be ad- 
mitted — two from each of the twelve military districts into which 
Canada is divided — those who make the highest number of marks 
are given the preference. The age of admission is from fifteen to 
nineteen. 

The military staff consists of a commandant, staff adjutant and 
seven professors and instructors, four of whom are graduates of the 
college, and two of the latter bold commissions in the regular army. 
Five of the staff are officers of the active list of the imperial army, 
lent to the college for a five years' term, at the close of which they 
are required to rejoin their command. Two are officers of the re- 



The Rambler, 67 

tired list. There is a civil staff of five, holding permanent appoint- 
ments from the government. The presence of iinj)erial officers gives 
a standing to the institution which it would not otherwise possess, 
and helps the proper training of those of the cadets who are destined 
for commissions in the regular army. The government was fortunate 
in the choice of the first commandant, Col. Hewitt of the Eoyal En- 
gineers, who, in addition to being an accomplished scholar and a 
good soldier, was possessed of great tact and energy, and knew Can- 
ada from former service. To his skill is due, in large measure, the 
success which attended the college from its very outset, and his 
guiding hand du-ected it through the difficulties which invariably 
attend the early career of a new institution, which, in this case, was 
to a large extent an experiment. Having completed his term he re- 
turned in 1886 to Plymouth, and was succeeded by Col. Oliver of the 
Royal Artillery, who had been professor of surveying and astronomy 
from Lthe beginning, and who proved himself to be a worthy suc- 
cessor. The present head of the institution is Maj.-Gen. Cameron, 
late of the Royal Artillery. 

Sir Frederick Middleton, now retired from the command of the 
Canadian forces, took a deep interest, officially and personally, in 
the college, and during its early days helped it with counsel and ad- 
vice, which his experience at Sandhurst well qualified him to give. 
The general officer commanding the militia is ex-offleio president of 
the college. 

The entrance examinations are held in June at the headquarters 
of each military district, and the twenty-four successful candidates 
report themselves at the opening of the term the following Septem- 
ber. The first week is spent in being uniformed and drilled into 
some kind of form. The second week the old cadets return, and the 
garrison settles down to hard work. The daily routine embraces 
drill and class parades, study and other duties. From reveille to 
tattoo, with the exception of two hours — from four to six, during 
which he is free — the cadet is under the eye of authority in the class 
or lecture-room or on parade. There is none of that loitering which 
so often takes place at civil colleges, none of that individual liberty 
which often means license. The cadet has, however, two half holi- 
days, on "Wednesday and Saturday, when he may go out on pass till 
eleven o'clock, or, with extra leave, till one. Balls and parties in 
Kingston are timed for these days, for the cadet, with his gay scar- 



68 The Rambler. 

let uniform, is an important factor in the social world. While at- 
tending the college the cadets are, of course, subject to the Queen's 
Regulations, the Army Act, the Militia Act, and such other rules and 
regulations as Her Majesty's troops are subject to. 

The physical training is excellent. Sergt. -Major Morgan of the 
Scots' Guards presides over this department, and well qualified he is 
to fill the position. Cadets who pass four years under his instruction 
come out with deep chests and erect figures, and show what a thor- 
ough physical training can accomplish. 

One of the rewards of good conduct is promotion to the rank of 
non-commissioned ofiicer, the commandant having authority to ap- 
point such from among those best qualified. Proud is he who is in- 
vested with the chevrons, or given the right to wear the sergeant's 
sash. 

But while subject to strict discipline the cadets have opportunities 
to cultivate their social qualities. One of the events of the season is 
the annual sports, which take place in September. The campus is 
alive with carriages and pedestrians, while pretty girls, with their 
chaperons, form the center of groups engaged in animated conversa- 
tion, or watching with interest the various competitions of speed and 
skill. Races, jumping competitions and steeplechases follow each 
other in quick succession, while the tug of war between the right 
and left wings creates almost as much interest as the struggle on the 
Isis between the college eights. The games over, all adjourn to the 
gymnasium, where the prizes, more substantial than the crown of 
ivy at the Olympic games, are distributed to the victors. Tea and 
an impromptu dance follow in the college halls. 

A ball is given at Christmas by the staff and cadets, and a yet 
more elaborate entertainment of similar character at the close of the 
college year in June. On closing day a series of field manoeuvers 
takes place, with blowing up of imaginary fortifications and fleets, 
and an exhibition of drill and bayonet exercise, after which the re- 
sults of the examinations are announced, the prizes distributed, and 
the session brought to a termination. The governor-general, the 
minister of militia, or some one else high in authority, is secured, 
if possible, to distribute the prizes and make a speech. Four com- 
missions, one each in the engineers, artillery, cavalry, and infantry 
branches of the imperial service, are available, the cadets who stand 
highest on the honor roll, if otherwise eligible, being entitled to them 



The Rambler. 69 

in the order named. The first two are eagerly sought, the third 
generally goes a-begging, as there are few Canadian youths with suf- 
ficient means to keep up a position in such an expensive branch of 
the service, in which case an additional commission in the infantry 
is generally substituted. All who have taken the full four years' 
course, and qualified in all the obligatory subjects, are entitled to re- 
ceive a diploma of graduation, those who have specially distinguished 
themselves also receiving honors. Those who leave at the end of 
two years, and pass the subjects required, receive a certificate of 
military qualification only. 

After the official proceedings are over on the closing day the ca- 
dets have a parade of their own, when the members of the graduat- 
ing class have to undergo an ordeal of handshaking and leavetaking 
in true college form. A valedictory dinner in the evening follows, 
and then steamer and car bear the cadets off, and the halls are de- 
serted for three months. 

Some of tlie passed cadets of the college have already won fanje 
for themselves. The name of Stairs, who accompanied Stanley in 
his march through darkest Africa, is well known the world over. 
Lieut. Hewitt served in the Soudan and bears a medal won on the 
banks of the Nile, and Lieut. Dobell has distinguished himself for 
bravery in Burmah. 

Occasion has not yet arisen to call into full play the energies of the 
rapidly- growing members of the graduates of the Royal Military 
College, and it is, therefore, too early to judge of its full benefit to 
Canada. But the opinion of Lord Landsdowne, expressed when 
governor general, is worth quoting. These are his words: 

"There is no Canadian institution of which Canada should be 
prouder or which will do better service to the country and to the 
empire. It forms an interesting and distinctive feature in the mili- 
tary system of the Dominion. That system, as I understand it, is 
based upon the recognition of the fact that Canada cannot afford in 
her own interests, or in those of the empii'e, to disregard those pre- 
cautions which every civilized community takes in order to ensure 
its own safety from intei'nal commotion or external attack. Upon 
the other hand, it is a system entirely opposed to the establishment 
of a numerous standing army, or to the withdrawal of a large body 
of citizens from the peaceful pursuits which are essential to the pro- 
gress and development of the country. 

" That being so, it is clear that, in case of a national emergency, 
the Dominion would have to trust largely to the spontaneous efforts 



YO The Rambler. 

of its own people, to the expansion of its existing organization, and 
the rapid development of the resources already at our command. 

" But, gentlemen, it is needless for me to point out to you that 
there is one thing which it is impossible to produce on the spur of 
the moment, and that is a body of trained officers, competent to take 
charge of new levies or to supervise operations necessary for the de- 
fense of the national territory, and, therefore, it appears to me that 
we cannot overrate the value of an institution which year by year 
is turning out men who have received within its walls a soldier's 
education in the best sense of the word and who, whatever their pri- 
mary destination, will, I do not doubt, be found available whenever 
their services are required by the country." 

The cost of education at the Military College is not unreasonable. 
Each cadet is required to deposit annually $300 to cover the cost of 
messing and quarters, and in addition $200 the first year, and $150 
each year afterwards for uniform, books and instruments. The mess- 
man receives forty-six cents per day for each cadet present. Extras 
are obtainable at fixed prices. No cadet is allowed to spend more 
than two dollars per month, non-commissioned officers more than 
four dollars, for extras, which they pay out of their pocket money. 

In addition to the full course of four years and the military course 
of two years, provision has been made at the college for officers of 
the militia, who require higher instruction than the mihtary schools 
afford, to take a three months' course, one class being instructed 
each year. By this means a number of officers have been enabled to 
qualify for important positions in the service. 

Taken all in all, Canada's West Point has been an unqualified suc- 
cess. 



The Rambler. 71 



" America.' 



The new steamer " America" has just been launched by the St. 
Lawrence River Steamboat Company. She is one of the most luxu- 
rious of the fleet under the management of that corporation. Their 
trio of "Empire State," "St. Lawrence" and "America," not to 
mention the other smaller boats, are unsurpassed by any steamers of 
their type in the world. The " America " is the same size as the ' ' St. 
Lawrence," her frame-work and hull being of steel to correspond 
with that steamer. She has been planned in such a way that every 
demand of an exacting public will be gratified. Upon her main deck, 
aft, is located a large dining-room, equipped with individual tables, 
comfortable chairs, and the finest linen, crockery and glass-ware. 
This room is a model of taste and completeness; the heavy English 
brussels carpet, a delicate shade of olive green and gold, harmonizes 
with the rich velour curtains and wilton upholstery. Heavy, pol- 
ished plate-glass windows extend from stem to stern on all decks, 
and every panel is filled with a beveled plate -glass mirror. 

The range, tea and coffee urns, carving table and other culinary 
attributes have been specially manufactured to order by one of the 
best known makers on the continent. A visit to this department 
alone is extremely interesting and instructive, and will account for 
the excellent meals for which the Folger line is famous. 

A large saloon cabin is built upon the promenade deck, and furn- 
ished in the same manner as the dining room upon the main deck, 
below. The staterooms, with which this steamer is well supplied, 
connect with the saloon cabin, and are equipped in a style consistent 
with the other tasteful and substantial furnishings. 

The electric lighting is upon a most gorgeous scale, there being 350 
incandescent lamps, whose radiant beauty is enhanced by artistic 
oxidized fixtures. 

The search light is an exact duplicate in size, construction and 
power of the far-famed lamp of the Steamer " St. Lawrence." It is 
the largest ever seen on a passenger steamer, and in fact the extreme 
full size possible for such a purpose. 

Owing to the sfcanchness of this beautiful boat, passengers have ac- 
cess to the hurricane deck, a privilege which everyone familiar with 
steamboats will appreciate. The interior decorative . wood- work. 



CJ> 



The Rambler. 



arches, etc., in cabins is all carefully selected red oak, with stairs to 
match; the carving being executed by Wainright. 

Among other unique features, introduced for the first time on this 
steamer, is one that deserves special mention : her wheels are of the 
most improved pattern of feathering bucket, so, instead of having 
them entirely concealed, and the beauty of their mechanism wasted, 
thick plate glass is inserted, through which one may observe the rev- 
olutions . Incandescent electric lights of various colors, with power- 
ful reflectors are placed within the paddle boxes, and at night the 
irridescent rays illuminate the flying spray and produce a most weird 
and fascinating scene. 

This new steamer is certainly a creditable addition to the "WHITE 
SQUADRON," which plys among the Thousand Islands in direct 
connection with the Vanderbilt system. 




APPROACHING CLAYTON (THOUSAND ISLANDS). 



The Rambler. 73 

Mr Jolin A. Haddock's Great Balloon Voyage With 
Professor LaMountaln. 

When the writer was in school at the Sulphur Springs in Hounds- 
field, under Professor Morsman, there were two kinds of English 
Readers then published by the firm of Knowlton & Rice, one con- 
taining Jaius Rich's story of his fight with the panther on Bluff Rock, 
below Theresa, the other edition failing to contain that narrative. 
The book with the panther story was eagerly sought and devoured 
by all the children who could read, while the other edition was not 
by any means regarded with affection. The intense impression 
made by that panther story upon my own mind and upon that of the 
other scholars, has been a matter of recollection through the sixty 
years which have elapsed. For that reason the author of this His- 
tory has yielded to urgent solicitation, and presents below the story 
of his great aerial voyage in 1859 with John LaMountain, one of the 
longest voyages ever made in a balloon. The writer appears to be 
best remembered by that perilous episode, especially among those 
who are now the business men of Jefferson county, but who were 
then eager, pushing lads, nearly crazy over the balloon fever, which 
was at that time violent in Northern New York. Perhaps the most 
important result attained by that dismal balloon experience may be 
found in the article following this account, which relates to the 
" Awakening of Henry Backus. " 

The interest aroused by this balloon trip was surprising and 
almost phenomenal, ray account being published at length in. nearly 
every English newspaper. Perhaps the story filusti-ates fortitude 
under trying circumstances and under the agonizing strain experi- 
enced in the uncertainty which surrounded LaMountain and myself 
when toiling in that wildernes. In that light it may be regarded as 
an object lesson, not altogether to be lost upon those who are to 
come after us. 

THE ACCOUNT. 

It is now about thirty-five years since the undersigned made the 
memorable balloon voyage with Professor LaMountain— a voyage 
intended to be short and pleasant, but which resulted in a long and 
most disastrous one, entailing the loss of the valuable balloon, and 
seriously endangering the lives of the travellers. Since then. La- 



T-i The Rambler. 

Mountain, after serving through the great rebellion, has made his 
last "voyage, " and has entered upon that existence where all the 
secrets of the skies are as well defined and understood as are the 
course of rivers here on earth. 

To fully understand my reasons for making the trip, some leading 
facts should be presented: 

1. There had been, all through the year 1859, much excitement in 
the public mind upon the subject of ballooning. In August of that 
year I returned from Labrador, and found that the balloon Atlantic, 
with Wise, Hyde, Gaeger and LaMountain, had been driven across 
a part of Lake Ontario, while on their great trip from St Louis to 
New York city, and had landed and been wrecked in Jefferson 
coiinty, N. Y., and the people of that whole section were conse- 
quently in a state of considerable excitement upon the subject of 
navigating the air.* 

2. I had heard of other newspaper editors making trips in balloons; 
had read their glowing accounts, and it seemed to me like a very 
cunning thing. Desiring to enjoy '•' all that was a-going," I natu- 
rally wanted a balloon ride too, and therefore concluded to go, ex- 
pecting to be absent from home not more than ten or twelve hours 
at the longest, and to have a good time. Being a newspaj^er man, 
and always on the alert for news, I had also a natural desire to do 
all in my power to add to the local interest of my journal, and for 



* The Wise named above was the celebrated aeronaut. Professor 
John Wise, of Lancaster, Pa. ; and I may here remark that the trip 
made by him and his associates is by far the longest on record. 
Leaving St. Louis at about 4 p. M. they passed the whole night in the 
air, were carried across the States of Illinois, Indiana, a portion of 
Ohio and Michigan, over the whole northwestei-n breadth of Pennsyl- 
vania and New York, and were at last wrecked in a huge tree-top 
near the shore of Lake Ontario, at about 3 P. M. the next day, escap- 
ing with severe bruises but without broken bones, after a journey of 
eleven hundred miles. These adventurers did not travel as fast," nor 
eacounter the perils that awaited us, but they made a longer voyage. 
It was with this same balloon Atlantic that LaMountain and myself 
made our trip, but it had been reduced one third in size, and was as 
good as new. John Wise afterwards lost his life in a balloon, but 
just where he perished was never known. Gaeger was a manufacturer 
of crockery, and he died in Massachusetts. Hyde is publishing a 
newspaper in one of the western States. LaMountain died in his bed 
at Lansingburgh, N. Y., about 1884. 



The Rambler. 75 

that reason felt a willingness to go through with more fatigue and 
hazard than men are expected to endure in ordinary business 
pursuits. 

3. I felt safe in going, as I knew that LaMountain was an intrepid 
and successful aeronaut, and I thought his judgment was to be 
depended upon. How he was misled as to distance, and how little 
he knew, or any man can know, of air navigation, the narrative will 
readily demonstrate. 

With these explanations, I will proceed with my original narra- 
tive, nearly as written out at the time. 

Nearly every one in Watertown is aware that the second ascension 
of the baloon Atlantic was advertised for the 20th of September, 
1859. The storm of that and the following day obliged the postpone- 
ment of the ascension until the 22d. Every arrangement had been 
made for a successful inflation, and at twenty-seven minutes before 
6 P. M. the glad words, "all aboard," were heard from LaMountain, 
and that distinguished aeronaut and myself stepped into the car. 
Many were the friendly hands we shook— many a fervent "God bless 
you," and "happy voyage," were uttered — and many hankerchiefs 
waved their mute adieus. " Let go all," and away we soared; in an 
instant all minor sounds of earth had ceased, and we were lifted 
into a silent sphere, whose shores were without an echo, their silence 
equaled only by that of the grave. No feeling of trepidation was 
experienced; an extraordinary elation took possession of us, and fear 
was as far removed as though we had been sitting in our own rooms 
at home. 

Two or three things struck me as peculiar in looking down from 
an altitude of half a mile: the small appearance of our village from 
such a height and the beautiful mechanical look which the straight 
fences and oblong square fields of the farmers present. As we rose 
into the light, fleecy clouds, they looked between us and the earth 
like patches of snow we see lying upon the landscape in spring-time; 
but when we rose a little higher the clouds completely shut out the 
earth, and the cold, white masses below us had precisely the same 
look that a mountainous snow-covered country does, as you look 
down upon it from a higher mountain. Those who have crossed the 

A,lps — or have stood upon one of the lofty summits of the Sierra 
Nevada, and gazed down upon the eternal snows below and around 
them, will be able to catch the idea. In six minutes we were far 



76 The Rambler. 

above all the clouds, and the sun and we were face to face. We saw 
the time after that when his face would have been very welcome to 
us. In eight minutes after leaving the earth, the thermometer 
showed a fall of 34 degrees. It stood at 84 when we left. The bal- 
loon rotated a good deal, proving that were ascending with great 
rapidity. At 5:48 thermometer stood at 42, and falling very fast. 
At 5:50 we were at least two miles high — thermometer 34. 

An unpleasant ringing sensation had now become painful, and I 
filled both ears with cotton. At 5:52 we put on our gloves and 
shawls — thermometer 32. The wet sandbags now became stiff with 
cold — they were frozen. Ascending very rapidly. At 5:54 ther- 
mometer 28, and falling. Here we caught our last sight of the earth 
by daylight, I recognized the St. Lawrence to the south-west of us, 
which showed we were drifting nearly north. At 6 o'clock we 
thought we were descending a little, and LaMountain directed me 
to throw out about 20 pounds of ballast. This shot us up again — 
thermometer 26, and falling very slowly. At 6:05 thermometer 22 — 
my feet were very cold. The Atlantic was now full, and presented 
a most splendid sight. The gas began to discharge itself at the 
mouth, and its abominable smell, as it came down upon us, made 
me sick. A moment's vomiting helped my case materially, La- 
Mountain was suffering a good deal with cold. I passed my thick 
shawl around his shoulders, and put the blanket over our knees and 
feet. At 6:1.0 thermometer 18. We drifted along until the sun left 
us, and in a short time thereafter the balloon began to descend. We 
must have been, before we began to descend from this height, 3| 
miles high. At 6 : 22 thermometer 23 ; rising. We were now about 
stationary, and thought we were sailing north of east. We could, 
we thought, distinguish water below us, but were unable to recog- 
nize it. At 6 :38 we threw over a bag of sand, making 80 pounds 
of ballast discharged, and leaving about 120 pounds on hand. We 
distintly heard a dog bark. Thermometer 28 — and rising rapidly. 
At 6 : 45 the thermometer stood at 33. 

At 6 : 50 it was dark, and I could make no more memoranda. I 
put up my note book, pencil and watch, and settled down in the bas- 
ket, feeling quiet contented. From this point until next moi'ning I 
give my experiences from memory only. The figures given were 
made at the times indicated, and the thermometric variations can be 
depended on as quite accurate. 



The Rambler. 77 

We heard, soon after dark, a locomotiYe whistle, and occasionally 
could hear wagons rumbling over the ground or a bridge, while the 
farmers' dogs kept up a continual baying, as if conscious there was 
something unusual in the sky. We sailed along, contented and 
chatty, until about half-past eight o'clock, when we distinctly saw 
lights below us, and heard the roaring of a mighty water-fall. We 
descended into a vaUey near a very high mountain, but as the place 
appeared rather forbidding, we concluded to go up again. Over 
with 30 pounds of ballast, and sky-ward we sailed. In about 20 
minutes we again descended, but this time no friendly light greeted 
us. We seemed to be over a dense wilderness, and the balloon was 
settling down into a small lake. We had our life-preservers ready 
for use, but got up again by throwing out all our ballast, except 
perhaps 20 pounds. LaMountain now declared it was folly to stay 
up any longer, that we were over a great wilderness, and the sooner 
we descended the better. We <ooncluded to settle down by the side 
of some tall tree, tie up, and wait until morning. In a moment we 
were near the earth, and as we gently descended I grasped the ex- 
treme top of a high spruce, which stopped the balloon's momentum, 
and we were soon lashed to the tree by our large drag-rope. 

We rolled ourselves up in our blankets, patiently waiting for the 
morning. The cold rain spouted down upon us in rivulets from the 
great balloon that lazily rolled from side to side over our heads, and 
we were soon drenched and uncomfortable as men could be. After 
a night passed in great apprenhension and unrest, we were right 
glad to see the first faint rays of coming light. Cold and rainy the 
morning at last broke, the typical precursor of other dismal morn- 
ings to be spent in that uninhabited wilderness. We waited until 6 
o'clock in hopes the rain would cease, and that the rays of the sun, 
by warming and thereby expanding the gas in the balloon, would 
give us ascending power sufficient to get up again, for the purpose 
of obtaining a view of the country into which we had descended. 
The rain did not cease, and we concluded to throw over all 
we had in the balloon, except a coat for each, the life-preserv- 
ers, the anchor and the compass. Overboard, then, they went 
— good shawls and blankets, bottles of ale and a flask of cor- 
dial, ropes and traps of all kinds. The Atlantic, relieved of this wet 
load, rose majestically with us, and we were able to behold the 
country below. It was an unbroken wilderness of lakes and spruce 



78 The Rambler. 

— and I began to fully realize that we had indeed gone too far, 
through a miscalculation of the velocity of the balloon. As the cur- 
rent was still driving us towards the north, we dare not stay up, as 
we were drifting still farther and farther into trouble. LaMoun- 
tain seized the valve-cord and discharged gas, and we descended in 
safety to the solid earth. Making the Atlantic fast by her anchor, 
we considered what was to be done. 

We had not a mouthful to eat, no protection at night from the 
wet ground, were distant we knew not how far from any habita- 
tion, were hungry to start with, had no possible expectation of 
making a fire, and no definite or satifactory idea as to where we 
were. We had not even a respectable pocket knife, nor a pin to 
make a fish hook of — indeed we were about as well equipped for for- 
est life as were the babes in the woods. 

After a protracted discussion, in 'which all our ingenuity was 
brought to bear upon the question of our whereabouts, we settled in 
our minds (mainly from the character of the timber around us), that 
we were either in John Brown's tract, or in that wilderness lying be- 
tween Ottawa City and Prescott, Canada. If this were so, then we 
knew that a course south by east would take us out if we had 
strength enough to travel the distance. 

TEAMPING IN THE WOODS. 

Acting upon our conclusion, we started through the woods toward 
the south-east. After traveling about a mile we came to the bank 
of a small stream flowing from the west, and were agreeably sur- 
prised to find that some human being had been there before us, 
for we found the stumps of several small trees and the head of a 
half -barrel, which contained pork. I eagerly examined the inspec- 
tion stamp ; it read : 

"MESS POEK," 

"P. M." 

"Montreal." 

This settled the question that we were in Canada, as I well knew 
that no Montreal inspection of pork ever found its way into the 
State of New York. Although the course we had adopted was to be 
a south-easterly one, we yet concluded to follow this creek to the 
westward, and all day Friday we travelled up its banks — crossing it 



The Rambler. 79 

about noon on a floating log, and striking on the southern shore a 
"blazed" path, which led to a deserted lumber road, and it in turn 
bring us to a log shanty on the opposite bank. We had hoped this 
lumber road would lead out into a clearing or a settlement, but a 
careful examination satisfied us that the road ended here, its objec- 
tive point evidently being the shanty on the other bank. We con- 
cluded to cross the creek to the shanty, and stay there all night. 
Collecting some small timbei-s for a raft, LaMountain crossed over 
safely, shoving the raft back to me. But my weight was greater 
than my companion's, and the frail structure sank under me, pre- 
cipitating me into the water. I went in all over, but swam oiit, 
though it took all my strength to do so. On reaching the bank I 
found myself so chilled as scarcely to be able to stand. I took off 
all my clothes and wrung them as dry as I could. We then pro- 
ceeded to the shanty, where we found some refuse straw, but it was 
dry, and under a pile of it we crawled — pulling it over our heads 
and faces, in the hope that our breath might aid in warming our 
chilled bodies. I think the most revengeful, stony heart would have 
pitied our condition then. I will not attempt to describe our 
thoughts as we lay there ; home, children, wife, parents, friends, 
with their sad and anxious faces, rose up reproachfully before us as 
we tried to sleep. But the weary houi's of night at last wore away, 
and at daylight we held a new council. It was evident, we argued, 
that the creek we were upon was used by the lumbermen for " driv- 
ing " tlieir logs in the spring freshets. If, then, we followed it to its 
confluence with the Ottawa or some stream which emptied into the 
Ottawa, we would eventually get out the same way the timber went 
out. The roof of the shanty was covered with the halves of hollow 
logs, scooped out in a manner familiar to all woodsmen. The^e 
were dry and light, and would make us an excellent raft. Why not, 
then, take four of these, tie them to cross-pieces by wythes and such 
odd things as we coiild find around the shanty, and pole the craft 
down stream to that civilization which even a saw-log appeared able 
to reach. Such, then, was the plan adopted, although it involved 
the retracing of all the steps hitherto taken, and an apparent depart- 
ure from the course we had concluded would lead us out. 

Without delay, then, we dragged the hollow logs down to the 
creek, and LaMountain proceeded to tie them together, as he was 
more of a sailor than myself. We at last got under way, and as we 



80 The Rambler. 

pushed off, a miserable crow set up a dismal cawing — an inauspici- 
ous sign We poled down the stream about a mile, when we came 
abruptly upon a large pine tree which had fallen across the current; 
completely blocking the passage of the raft. No other course was 
left us but to untie the raft, and push the pieces through under the 
log. This was at last accoaiplished, when we tied our craft together 
again, and poled down the stream. To-day each of us ate a raw frog 
(all we could find), and began to realize that we were hungry. Yet 
there was no complaining — our talk was of the hopeful future, 
and of the home and civilization we yet expected to reach. Down 
the creek we went, into a lake some four miles long, and into 
which we of course supposed the stream to pass, with its outlet at 
the lower end. We followed down the northern bank, keeping 
always near the shore and in shallow water, so that our poles could 
touch the bottom, until we reached the lower extremity of the lake, 
where we found no outlet, and so turned back upon the southern 
shore in quest of one. On reaching the head of the lake, and examin- 
ing the stream attentively, we found that the current of the creek 
turned abruptly to the right, which was the reason of our losing it. 
We felt happy to have found our current again, and plied our poles 
like heroes. We passed, late in the afternoon, the spot where we 
had at first struck the creek, and where we stuck up some dead 
branches as a landmai'k which might aid us in case we should at a 
future time attempt to save the Atlantic. 

When night came on we did not stop, but kept the raft going 
down through the shades of awful forests, whose solemn stillness 
seemed to hide from us the unrevealed mystery of our darkening 
future. During the morning the rain had ceased, but about 10 
o'clock at night it commenced again. We stopped the " vessel " and 
crawled in under some "tag " alders on the bank, where our extreme 
weariness enabled us to get perhaps half an hour's sleep. Rising 
again (for it was easier to pole the raft at night in the rain down 
an unknown stream amidst the shadows of that awful forest, 
than to lie on the ground and freeze), we pressed on until per- 
haps three in the morning, when pure exhaustion compelled 
us to stop again. This time we found a spot where the clayey bank 
lacked a little of coming down to the water. On the mud we threw 
our little bundle of straw, and sat down with our feet drawn up 
under us, so as to present as little surface to the rain as possible 



The Rambler. 81 

But we could not stand such an uncomfortable position long, and as 
the daylight of the Sabbath broke upon us, we were poling down the 
stream in a drizzling rain. At 8 o'clock we reached a spot at which 
the stream narrowed, rusliing over large boulders, and between 
rocky shores. This was trouble indeed. To get our raft down this 
place we regarded as well-nigh hopeless. We tied up and examined 
the shore. Here, again, we found unmistakable marks left by the 
lumbermen, they having evidently camped at this point, to be handy 
by in the labor of getting the timber over this bad spot in the stream. 
The rapids were about a third of a mile long, and very turbulent. 
After a protracted survey we descended the bank, and thought it 
best to abandon our raft, and try our luck on foot again. After 
travelhng about a mile, we found the bank so tangled and rugged, 
and ourselves so much exhausted, that satisfactory progress was 
impossible. So we concluded to go back, and if we could get the 
raft down, even one piece at a time, we would go on with her — if 
not, we would build as good a place as possible to shield us from the 
cold and wet, and there await with fortitude that death from starva- 
tion which was beginning to be regarded as a probabihty. This was 
our third day of earnest labor and distressing fatigue, and in all 
that time we had not ate an ounce of food, nor had dry clothing 
upon us. 

Acting upon our resolution we at once commenced to get the raft 
down the rapids, and I freely confess that this was the most trying 
and laborous work of a whole life of labor. The pieces would not 
float over a rod at a time, before they would stick on some stone 
which the low water left above the surface; and then you must pry 
the stick over in some way, and pass it along to the next obstruction. 
We were obliged to get into the stream, often up to the middle, with 
slippery boulders beneath our feet. Several times I fell headlong 
— completely using up our compass, which now frantically pointed 
in any direction its addled head took a fancy to. The water had un- 
glued the case, and it was ruined. After long hours of such labor 
we got the raft down and LaMountain again tied it together. Pass- 
ing on, in about an hour we came to a large lake, about ten miles 
long by six broad. Around it we must of course pass, until we 
should find the desired outlet. So we turned up to the right, and 
pressed on with as much resolution as we could muster. To-day 
we found one clam, which I insisted LaMountain should eat, as he 



82 The Rambler. 

was much weaker than myself, and had eaten nothing on the day 
we went up. 

Part of this day LaMountain slept upon the raft, and I was " boss 
and all hands. " As the poor fellow Jay there, completely used up, 
I saw that he could not be of much more assistance in getting out. 
Erysipelas, from which he had previouslj^ suffered, had attacked his 
right eye; his face was shriveled so that he looked like an old man, 
and his clothes were nearly torn from his body. A few tears could 
not be restrained, and my prayer was for speedy deliverance or 
speedy death. While my companion was asleep, and I busily pol- 
ing the raft along, I was forced to the conclusion, after deliberately 
canvassing all the chances, that we were pretty sure to perish there 
miserably at last. But I could not cease my efforts while I had 
strength, and so around the lake we went, into all the indentations of 
the shore, keeping always in the shallow water. The day at last 
wore away, and we stopped at night at a place we thought least ex- 
posed to the wind. We dragged the end of our raft out of the water 
and laid down upon the cold ground. We were cold when we laid 
down, and both of us trembled by the hour, like men suffering from 
a severe attack of the ague. The wind had risen just at night, and 
the dismal surging of the waves upon the shore formed, I thought, a 
fitting lullaby to our disturbed and dismal slumbers. 

By this time our clothes were nearly torn off. My i^antaloons 
were split up both legs, and the waistbands nearly gone. My boots 
were mere wrecks, and our mighty wrestlings in the rapids had torn 
the skin from ankles and hands. LaMountain's hat had disappeared; 
the first day out he had thrown away his wollen drawers and stock- 
ings, as they dragged him down by .the weight of water they ab- 
sorbed. And so we could sleep but little; it really seemed as though 
during this night we passed through the horrors of death. But at 
daylight we got up by degrees, first on one knee and then on the other, 
so stiff and weak that we could hardly stand. Again upon the silent, 
monotonous lake we went — following around its shore for an out' 
let. About 10 o'clock we come to quite a broad northern stream, 
which we thought was the outlet we were seeking, and we entered 
it with joy, believing it would take us to our long sought Ottawa. 
Shortly after entering this stream it widened out and began to ap- 
pear like a mere lake. We poled up the western shore for about 
seven miles, but found ourselves again deceived as to the outlet — 



The Rambler. 



83 



the water we were upon proving to be another lake or bayou. We 
had gone into this lake with the highest hopes, but when we found 
that all the weary miles of our morning travel had been in vain, and 
had to be retraced, my resolution failed me for a moment. Yet we 
felt that our duty, as Christian men, was to press forward as long as 
we could stand, and leave the issue with a higher Power. 

It had now been four full days since we ate a meal. All we had 
eaten in the meantime was a frog apiece, four clams and a few wild 
berries, whose acid properties and bitter taste had probably done us 
more harm than good. Our strength was beginning to fail very 
fast, and our systems were evidently undergoing an extraordinary 
change. I did not permit myself to think of food — the thought of 
a well-filled table would have been too much. My mind continually 
dwelt upon poor Strain's sufferings on the Isthmus of Darien (then 
lately published in Harper's Magazine). He, too, was paddling a 
raft down an unknown stream, half starved, and filled with dread- 
ful forebodings. But I did not believe we could hold out half as 
long as he had. Besides, he was lost in a tropical country, where 
all nature is kind to man; he had fire-arms and other weapons with' 
which to kill game. We were in a cold, inhospitable land without 
arms and utterly unable to build a fire. Strain was upon a stream 
which he knew would eventually bear him to the sea and to safety; 
while we were upon waters whose flow we positively knew nothing 
about, andweie as much lost as though in the mountains of the 
moon. Yet we could not give it up so, and tried to summon up 
fresh courage as troubles appeared to thicken around us. So we 
turned the raft around and poled it in silence back toward the place 
where we had entered this last lake. We had gone about a "mile 
when we heard the sound of a gun, quickly followed by a second re- 
port. No sound was ever so sweet as that. We halloed as loud as 
we could a good many times, but could get no response. We kept 
our poles going quite lively, and had gone about half a mile when I 
called LaMountain's attention to what I thought was smoke curling 
up among the trees by the side of a hill. My own eyesight had be- 
gun to fail very much, and I felt afraid to trust my dulled senses in a 
matter so vitally important. LaMountain scrutinized the shore very 
closely, and said he thought it was smoke, and that he believed there 
was also a birch canoe on the shore below. In a few moments the 
blue smoke rolled unmistakably above the tree tops, and we felt that 



84 The Rambler. 



WE WERE SAVED '. 

Such a revulsion of feeling was almost too much. We could 
hardly credit our good fortune, for our many bitter disappointments 
had taught us not to be very sanguine. With the ends of our poles 
we paddled the raft acros'^ the arm of the lake, here perhaps three- 
quarters of a mile wide, steering for the canoe. It proved to be a 
large one, evidently an Indian's. Leaving LaMountain to guard and 
retain the canoe, in case the Indian proved timid and desired to 
escape from us, I pressed hurriedly up the bank, following the foot- 
prints I saw in the damp soil, and soon came upon the temporary 
shanty of a lumbering wood, from the rude chimney of which a 
broad volume of smoke was rising. I halloed — a noise was heard 
inside, and a noble-looking Indian came to the door. I eagerly 
asked him if he could speak French, as I grasped his outstretched 
hand. " Yes," he replied, "and English, too!" He drew me into 
the cabin, and there I saw the leader of the party, a noble-hearted 
Scotchman named Angus Cameron. I immediately told my story ; 
that we had come in there with a balloon, were lost, and had been 
over four days without food — eagerly demanding to know where 
we were. Imagine my surprise when he said we were one hundred 
and eighty miles due north of Ottawa, near 300 miles from Water- 
town, to reach which would require more than 500 miles of travel, 
following the streams and roads. We were in a wilderness as large 
as three States like New York, extending from Lake Superior on the 
west, to the St. Lawrence on the east, and from Ottawa on the 
south, to the Arctic circle. 

The party consisted of four persons — Cameron and his assistant, 
and a half-breed Indian (LaMab McDougal) and his son. Their 
savory dinner was ready. I immediately dispatched the young 
Indian for LaMountain, who soon came in, the absolute picture of 
wretchedness. All that the cabin contained was freely offered us, 
and we began to eat. Language is inadequate to express our feel- 
ings. Within one little hour the clouds had lifted from our sombre 
future, and we felt ourselves to be men once more — no longer 
houseless wanderers amid primeval forests, driven by chance from 
side to side, but inspired by the near certainty of seeing home again 
a,nd mingling with our fellows once more in the busy scenes of 
life. 



The Rambler. 85 

We soon learned from Cameron that the stream we had traversed 
with our raft was called Filliman's creek — the large lake we were 
then near was called the Bos-ke-tong, and di-ains into the Bos-ke- 
tong river, which in turn drains into the Gatineau. The Gatineau 
joins the Ottawa opposite the city of that name, the seat of govern- 
ment of Canada. Cameron assured us that the Bos ke-tong and 
Gatineau were so rapid and broken that no set of men could get a 
raft down, no matter how well they knew the country, nor how 
much provisions they might have. He regarded our deliverance as 
purely providential, and many times remarked that we would cer- 
tainly have perished but for seeing the smoke from his fire. He was 
hunting timber for his employers, Gilmour & Co., of Ottawa, and 
was to start in two days down the Gatineau for his headquaiters at 
Desert. If we would stay there until he started we were welcome, 
he said, to food and accommodations, and he would take us down to 
Desert in his canoe, and at that point we could get Indians to take 
us farther on. He also said that he had intended to look for timber 
on Filliman's creek, near where the balloon would be found, as near 
as we could describe the locality to him, and would try to look it up 
and make the attempt to get it to Ottawa. This would be a long and 
tedious operation, as the portages are very numerous between the 
creek and Desert — something over twenty — one of them three 
miles long. Over these portages, of coure, the silk must be carried 
on the backs of Indians. 

After eating all I dared to, and duly cautioning LaMountain not to 
hurt himself by over-indulgence, I laid down to sleep. Before doing 
so, I had one of the men remo\!e my boots, ani when they came off, 
nearly the whole outer skin peeled off with the stockings. My feet 
had become parboiled by the continual soakings of four days and 
nights, and it was fully three months before they were cured. 

After finishing up his business in the vicinity were we found him, 
on Friday morning (our ninth day from home), Cameron started on 
his return. We stopped, on our way up the creek, at the spot where 
we had erected our landmark by which to find the balloon. We 
struck back for the place, and in about twenty minutes found her, 
impaled on the tops of four smallish spruce trees, and very much 
torn. LaMountain concluded to abandon her. He took the valve as 
a memento, and I cut the letters " TIC," which had formed part of 
her name, and brought the strip of silk home with me. We reached 



86 The Rambler. 

what is known as the "New Farm" on Friday night, and there 
ended our sleeping on the ground. Up by early dawn, and on again, 
through the drenching rain, reaching Desert on Saturday evening. 

At Desert we were a good deal troubled to obtain Indians to take 
us further on. LaMab McDougal had told his wife about the balloon, 
and she, being superstitious and ignorant, had gossipped with the 
other squaws, and told them the balloon was a " flying devil." As 
we had travelled in this flying devil, it did not require much of a 
stretch of Indian credulity to believe that if we were not the Devil's 
children, we must at least be closely related. In this extremity we 
appealed to Mr. Backus,* a kind-hearted American trader, who 
agreed to procure us a complement of redskins, who would take us 
to Alexis le Beau's place (60 miles down the river), where it was 
thought we could oVjtain horses. Sunday morning (our eleventh day 
from home), we started from Desert, and reached Alexis le Beau's 
just at night. The scenery upon this part of the route was sublime 
and imposing. The primeval forest stood as grand and silent as 
when created. Our Indians, too, surpassed anything I ever beheld, 
in physical vigor and endurance. In the day's run of sixty miles, 
thei-e were sixteen portages to be made. On reaching one of these 
places, they would seize the canoe as quick as we stepped out of it, 
jerk it out of the water and on to their shoulders in half a minute, 
and start upon a dog trot as unconcernedly as though bearing no 
burthen. Arriving at the foot of the portage, they would toss the 
canoe into the stream, steady it until we were seated, then spring in 
and paddle away, gliding down the stream like an arrow. In the 

* Something quite curious grew out of my naming Mr. Henry 
Backus as having assisted us at the mouth of the Desert river. My 
account was generally published throughout the country, and some 
ten days after our return I received a letter from a lady in Massachu- 
setts asking me to describe to her the man Backus, as that was the 
name of her long-absent son, who, twenty years before, had disap- 
peared from home, and had never afterwards been heard from. I 
answered the letter immediately, and soon after learned that the man 
proved to be her son, and that he had promised to come home. 
What had driven him away from civilization to live among the In- 
dians, was best known to himself. But a man of his generous im- 
pulses might have been an ornament to society, and a blessing to his 
fi-iends. [This note was written the next week after we escaped 
from the wilderness. The article following this treats of Backus' 
experience quite exhaustively.] 



The Rambler. 87 

morning we traveled fifteen miles and made seven portages in one 
hour and forty minutes. 

At Alexis le Beau's we first beheld a vehicle denominated a '' buck- 
board " — a wide, thick plank reaching from one bolster of the 
wagon to the other, and upon the middle of which i^lank the seat 
was placed. This sort of conveyance is often used in new countries, 
being very cheap, and within the reach of ordinary n^echanical skill. 
Starting off as soon as we could get someting to eat, we travelled all 
night through the forest, over one of the worst roads ever left unfin- 
ished, and reached Brooks' farm, a sort of frontier tavern, in the 
early morning, where we slept a couple of hours, and after breakfast 
pressed on by the rough frontier stage towards Ottawa. 

While the stage was stopping to-day to change horses, I picked up 
a newspaper at Her Brittanic Majesty's colonial frontier i^ost-ofiice, 
and in it read an account of our ascension and positive loss, with a 
rather flattering obituary notice of myself. And then, for the first 
time, I began to comprehend the degree of concern of our protracted 
absence had aroused in the public mind. And if the public felt this 
concern, what would be the degree of pain experienced by wife, 
children, parents, friends ? These reflections spurred us forward — 
or rather, our money induced the drivers to hurry up their horses -7- 
and at last, on the twelfth day of our absence, at about five o'clock 
in the afternoon, we jumped ofi: the stage in front of the telegraph 
office in the good city of Ottawa, whence, in less than five minutes, 
the swift lightning was speeding a message to home and friends. 
That was a happy moment — the happiest of all my life — when I 
knew that within thirty minutes my family would know of my 
safety. 

I do not know how the peo]ple of Ottawa so soon found out who 
we were — but suppose the telegraph operator perhaps told some one, 
and that " some one " must have told the whole town, for in less than 
lialf an hour there was a tearing, excited, happy, inquisitive mass of 
people in front of the grand hotel there — the clerk of which, when 
he looked at our ragged clothes and bearded faces, at first thought 
he "hadn't a single room left," but, who, when he found out that 
we were the lost balloon men, wanted us to have the whole hotel, 
free and above board, and had tea and supper and lunch, and "just 
a little private supper, you know ! " following each other in I'apid, 
yet most acceptable succession. The happy crowd in the hotel and 



88 . The Rambler. 

upon the street were determined to shake hands with us every one, 
and nearly all wanted to give or loan us money. Pretty soon the 
newspaper men and some personal acquaintances began to piess 
through the crowd, and some cried while others laughed and huz- 
zahhed. Indeed, every one acted as if they had just ' ' found some- 
thing." And such is human nature always, when its noble sympa- 
thies are aroused for the suffering or distressed. 

Although the president of the Ottawa and Prescott Railroad (Rob- 
ert Bell, Esq.), volunteered to send us on by a special engine that 
night, we thought it best (inasmuch as our friends had been informed 
of our safety), to stay at Ottawa until morning. It did seem as 
though the generous people of that city could not do enough for us, 
and their kind attention and disintersted enthusiasm will never be 
forgotten. 

Well, the next morning we left Ottawa, and were quickly carried 
to Prescott; thence across the St. Lawrence River to Ogdensburg. 
Here a repetition of the same friendly greetings took place; and at 
last, after a hearty dinner, we left for home, now distant only 
seventy -five miles by rail. All along the line of the road we found 
enthusiastic crowds awaiting our coming, and all seemed to exhibit 
unmistakeable evidence of the deep interest felt in our fate. At 
Watertown, which had been my home from boyhood, the enthusi- 
asm had reached fever heat, and the whole town was out to greet 
the returning aeronauts. They had out the old cannon on the Public 
Square, and it belched forth the loudest kind of a welcome. My 
family had, of course, suffered deeply by my absence. Everybody 
had given us up for dead, except my wife. I felt very cheap about 
the whole thing, and was quite certain that I had done a very foolish 
act. Not so the people — they thought it a big thing to have gone 
through with so much, and yet come out alive. 



Several general conclusions and remarks shall terminate this nar- 
rative, already too long. ' ' Why did you permit yourselves to go so 
far?" will naturally be asked. To this inquiry I reply, that the 
wind was exceedingly light when we ascended; that we were veiy 
soon among the clouds, and consequently unable to take cognizance 
of our course, or to judge how fast we were travelling. It should 



The Rambler. 89 

be distinctly understood that when you are sailing in a balloon, you 
are unconsious of motion and progress, unless you can see the earth. 

Even when you first leave the earth, you seem to be stationary, 
while the earth appears to drop away from you. Nor can you, when 
out of sight of the earth, although you may have a compass, iudge 
of the direction you are travelling, if travelling at all. In a few 
words, unless you can see the earth, you cannot tell how fast nor 
in what direction you are travelling. This, perhaps, better than any- 
thing else, will explain why we unconsciously drifted off to lati- 
tudes so remote. When we arose above the thick mass of clouds, 
before sundown, we undoubtedly struck a rapid current that carried 
us north-east, and after we had travelled in this current about an 
hour, we probably struck another current, from the variation of our 
altitude, which bore us off to the north-west, for the place where we 
landed is about thirty miles west of due north from where we as- 
cended. 

When we first descended near the earth, and saw lights and heard 
dogs barking, we should have landed. But we were unwilling to 
land at night in a deep wood, even though we knew that inhabitants 
were near by, and we thought it best to pick out a better place. 
This was our error; and it came near being a fatal one to us — it 
was certainly so to the balloon. In trying to find our " better place " 
to land, we were up longer than we supposed, and as we were travel- 
ling in a current that bore us off to the northward at the rate of 100 
miles an hour, we soon reached a point beyond the confines of civili- 
zation. 



90 The Rambler. 

La Rue's Treasures. 

(The gold seekers of the St. Lawrence. A tale of the Thousand Islands.) 
About four miles west of the Mallorytovvu Ijanding, on the north 
shore of the St. Lawrence, at the spot where the original Mallorys 
first landed, a se-ttler named "William La Rue, but commonly known 
as " Billy " Larue, received a grant of lots 15 and 19, in all, 550 
acres of land, in the year of our Lord, 1802. "Billy " was, although 
eccentric, a man of great energy and endurance. As a proof of the 
latter quality, it is related of him that he once walked barefooted 
the whole distance to Cornwall, that being the nearest point at 
which he could procure sufficient leather for a pair of shoes. At 
the point where La Rue settled, a deep ravine opened to the river. 
Across this he managed to construct a dam, thus furnishing him- 
self with a most excellent water power, on which he built a mill, 
and, in consequence, grew in wealth. During the war of 1812 his 
mill was taken possession of by the British troops, who utilized it 
as a means of providing subsistence for the troops. 

Although his lands presented almost insuperable barriers to agri- 
cultural improvements, Billy persevei-ed in clearing away the 
original forest, and, in its stead, planted apple, chestnut and walnut 
trees, so that even now, at a distance of almost a century of time, 
mingled amongst pines of a second growth, may now and then be 
found an apple tree, planted by the hand of the original owner of 
the soil, " Billy " La Rue. But time speed away and Billy toiled on, 
and as he was never known to be at all profuse in his expenditures, 
it was surmised that at his death, which was at a good old age, he 
was possessed of a large amount of gold and silver, which, by con- 
stant accretions in the imagination of his acquaintances, grew into 
fabulous sums which were, of course, buried somewhere on his es- 
tate; and though hardly jaressed at the time of his death to do so, 
he died and " made no sign." Having no family, and no heir nor 
heirs having ever i^resented a claim to his possessions, the lands, in 
time, reverted to the State, the mill and dam rotted away, the once 
cleared lands became covered with a second growth, but the belief 
in Billy La Rue's buried treasures remained and grew and multiplied 
more rapidly than did the little groves of second-growth pines 
which to-day dot the premises, and many have been the excavations 
made, and many the midnight searches at all points around the 
house, but so far in vain. While Billy was on his death bed, it was 



The Rambler. 91 

noticed that his fast glazing eyes turned oftenest in a particular di- 
rection, and it was along that line of view that the most persistent 
effort was made; and of one of those midnight searches a record is 
left by one of the participators, which is given as nearly as possible 
in his own language. 

The Treasure-Seeker's Narrative. 

On a bright moonlight night, in company with three other men, I 
left the village of Mallorytown and proceeded to a spot in the 
vicinity of the old La Rue mill near the upper dam. We were pro- 
vided with a divining rod of witch-hazel, and a goodly supply of 
picks and shovels, and in fact everything that was necessary to the 
prosecution of an enterprise of that character. We were in the best 
of spirits, and as it was a charming night, every way suitable for a 
successful issue to such an enterprise, we determined, if possible, to 
unearth Billy's treasures, or at all events to probe the secret to the 
very bottom. 

Our guide was an elderly gentleman who claimed to be an expert 
in the matter of unearthing buried treasures, and he had carefully 
instructed in every particular relating to etiquette to be observed on 
like delicate adventures. One imperative command, I remember 
well, and that was, that from the moment the divining rod began to 
indicate the sought for spot, not a word should be spoken, happen 
what might. We proceeded first to the house and then to the ceme- 
tery, at which point we proposed to begin our operations. It was a 
night of beauty. The moon shone clear and bright through the 
pines on the overhanging cliff, and yet a feeling something like awe 
crept over us. Suddenly our leader paused and presented his wand. 
Slowly the witch-hazel turned toward its mother earth. Moving a 
few paces to the left, our leader re-adjusted the wand, and again it 
drooped earthward. Again and again was the mysterious divinmg 
rod tested, and always with the same result. That we had solved 
the secret, and were about to become the happy possessors of the 
long-buried gold, there was no manner of doubt. 

Striking a cii'cle of about twelve feet radius, we began to dig, and 
so intent were we upon the welcome task that I took no note of the 
passing time. Whether we dug one hour or six, I cannot tell. 
Gradually the sky became overcast and one by one the stars dis- 
appeared. The moon sank from sight beneath the horizon, while 
the wind, as it rose in gusts and fell again into a gentle breeze, sighed 



92 The Rambler. 

a mournful requiem among the swaying pines. It grew weird and 
gloomy, and like a pall darkness came down upon us as we dug, 
transforming us into spectres in each other's eyes. But we labored 
on and not a word was spoken. 

Next came a blast of icy coldness which chilled the very marrow 
in our bones, though from our severe exertion we were bathed in 
perspiration. In the distance we heard a tramping, as of many feet. 
It seemed as though the guardian spirit of Billy La Rue's treasure 
was marshalling a force to destroy the desecrators of the last resting 
place of the dead. 

But we were nearing the completion of our labors. Our excava- 
tion was cone-like in form, the deepest part being in the center 
Suddenly a pick struck a metallic substance and the sound rang out 
clear and distinct on the night air. A few shovelfuls of earth more 
taken off and we felt the object with our hands ; because of its ring- 
ing sound when struck I will always believe it was metal. We re- 
doubled our exertions and rapidly removed the earth from one side 
and thrust down a crowbar. The coveted treasure was our own. 
With our united strength we slowly raised the iron covering, when 
in an instant we were surrounded by creatures innumerable, crowd- 
ing up to the very edge of our excavation. In the darkness their 
forms were indistinct, but to judge from the noise of their tramping 
there must have been thousands of them. They reminded me of a 
vast drove of black cattle. A great fear which I cannot describe 
came upon us, and with one impulse we dropped the crowbar and 
ran for life. Coming out of the ravine near the new mill, we paused. 
The moon was sailing majestically through a clear sky, though to 
our belief it had a short time before gone down in gloom. After a 
brief consultation, we came to the conclusion that we were victims 
of imagination. We returned to our work. We found our tools 
and garments, but not a sign of any metallic covering nor even a 
fiat stone at the bottom of our excavation. Our leader sorrowfully 
shook his head, and declared that the "treasure had moved," and so 
we departed for Mallorytown, determined to let the treasures of Billy 
La Rue rest forevermore. 

Note. — The above story, or the substance of it, was found by the 
author of this book in an old i^amphlet, in which the name of its 
writer does not appear, else due credit would have been given. It is 
inserted mainly because its location is among the Thousand Islands. 



The Rambler. 93 

On Historic Ground. 

( From the Congregationalist, Sept. 27, i8g^.) 

Should an American Walter Scott ever arise he would find ample 
material for a new series of Waverly novels in the historic associa- 
tions of the River St. Lawrence and its northern and southern shores. 
He would find here mighty fortresses built by no human hands, 
castles made more secure by natural bulwarks than moat or bar- 
bican could make them, hidden bays in which a fleet might hide, 
channels three hundred feet deep winding between wooded islands 
and secluded water ways. Ellen's Isle, made famous by the Wizard 
of the North, is reproduced here in a hundred forms, and Loch 
Katrine has scores of rivals at our very door. 

We have our legends of battle and carnage, of valiant deeds by 
souls as heroic as those who wore the tartan and the plaid. We can 
point out a cavern hidden away beneath precipitous rock on a 
secluded island, which has its romance of a maiden's devotion to her 
father hiding from bitter enemies seeking his life. She, darting 
through the waters in a little canoe, avoiding the watchful enemy, 
provided for his needs till the danger had passed. To-day this 
Devil's Oven, if not as famous as the little island among the Tros- 
sachs, is visited by thousands and the heroism of the maiden 
recalled. 

Connected with this act of bravery is the story of her father, Wil- 
liam Johnston, as told by one of his old neighbors. About the year 
1837 our American steamer Caroline was seized for transporting 
patriots to Canada and sent over Niagara Falls. In revenge for this 
act, coupled with real or fancied personal wrongs, Johnston organ- 
ized a company of frontiersmen, and on Wellesley Island, then al- 
most uninhabited, lay in wait for the new and elegant side-wheel 
Canadian passenger steamer Peel as it passed down the river to Og- 
densburg. It landed for wood at what is now called Peel's Dock. 
Our informant, then a lad living on a lonely farm, was at the pier to 
see the great ship. A stranger warned him away, but not far off he 
saw a little band creeping out from behind huge woodpiles and at- 
tack the steamer. The French crew fled into the woods. A few 
jumped overboard in their night-clothes. The brave engineer sought 
to scuttle the steamer, but it was fired, drifted out a little way and 
sank in forty feet of water, where it rests " unto this day." 



94: The Rambler. 

The night attack on Deerfield, Mass., ua 1704,. for the rescue of the 
Bell, and the terrible massacre of Wyoming, were planned on one of 
these islands. Many of them have then- tales of terror connected, 
with the French and English and Indian wars. No securer place 
could be found for sudden attacks from hidden enemies in these 
labyrinthian channels, secluded bays and wooded x-ocky islands. 

The name of Bonaparte is perpetuated by a charming lake not far 
away. The story of Joseph, the brother of the great Napoleon, and 
his career in Northern New York is as romantic as any in its history. 
His coming here to secure an American home for the emperor, after 
a planned escape from St. Helena, his great domain and elegant 
chateau, the bringing hither a Venetian gondola to sail on these 
Western waters, the baronial establisliment of retainers and servi- 
tors, chariots and outriders, and the royal style in which he lived 
constitute one of the strange episodes of history. Prior to that time 
Joseph had been to America, won the Jieart of one of its brightest 
maidens, married her — some say a fictitious marriage — carried her 
to France and placed her in a convent. He promised to take her to 
court when the opportune time came. That never appeared, as 
Napoleon had other plans for his brother. At last, with her child, 
the mock marriage having been made known to her, she fled to 
Northern New York. A friend saw, in eai-ly girlhood, this daughter, 
in a home where they were both guests. She recalls a stately, 
queenly woman, bearing a resemblance in face to the noted family. 

Not far away, too, is the childhood home of the famous singer 
Antoinette Sterling, the beauty of whose Christian character has not 
be^n exaggerated. Her home is now in London. Many a wild 
legend do we hear as we glide over these historic waters and listen 
to enthusiastic informants. As to a cluster of some three hundred 
islands of special historic interest, a charming poem was a while ago 
issued in a French newspaper in Quebec, in which this pretty con- 
ceit is .expressed : "After Adam and Eve had been expelled from 
Paradise the Garden of Eden was taken back to heaven. On its way 
thither flowers were thi-own back to earth, and these three hundred 
islands are created from those blossoms of God." s. E. B. 



The Rambler. 95 

The Happy Islands. 



From proof sheets of Haddock's "Souvenir of the St. Lawrence." 

There, where a Thousand Islands sleep, 
Gome pulsing from Niagara's leap 
The blended lakes with tireless sweep — 
Vast lakes, which float the grain and ore 
Of mighty States from shore to shore, 
A thousand billowy miles and more. 

'Tis there the centering waters meet 
In rush sublime and beauty sweet, 
Which we with happy thrills shall greet — 
We who in fevered towns have sighed 
For green and watery spaces wide, 
And Nature's murmuring love beside. 

Ah, here they are ! The river here, 
Swift, slow, tumultuous, crystal-clear, 
Lapping the islands which nprear 
Their rocky heads, with crests of trees 
Has sure enchantments to release 
The heart and change its pain to peace. 

Hail ! River of the Thousand Isles, 

Which so enchants and so beguiles 

With countless charms and countless wiles ; 

Flow on unpent, forever free 

And pauseless, to the ocean sea 

Which belts the globe's immensity. 

Not there our goal. Here, here we stay 
Among the islands green and gray, 
Nor strive, but idly float and play 
Along the river's glints and gleams, 
And yield to reveries and dreams 
With which the quickened fancy teems. 

Here, wliere the airs are always pure, 
And wave and earth and skj" allure. 
And whisper, "Let the best endure," 
The wiser thoughts and instincts gi'ow, 
Hearts truer feel and surer know, 
And kindle to a tenderer glow. 

St. Lawrence River, here we rest, 
And here we end our wandering quest 
To reach the Islands of the Blest, 
Where Nature's sweetest sweets abound, 
Are sacred waters, sacred ground — 
The Earthly Paradise is found ! 

George C. Bragdon. 




GRAND VIEW HOUSE 

AND ANNEX COTTAGES, 
GRAND VIEW PARK, Thousand Islands, N. Y. 

Hourly communication by Steamer. In the center of the Famous 
Fishing Grounds of the St. Ivawrence. Take the Grand View Park 
Ferry-boat at Thousand Island Park Dock. R., W. & O. R. R. trains 
connect at Clayton with Steamers landing at T. I. Park. I^ake 
Steamers also land at T. I. Park. 

P. 0. Address— Grand View Park, (Thousand Islands,) N. Y. 

Transient Rates, |2.oo to $2.50 per day. Weekly Rates given on 
application. Special Rates in June and September. Boat Ivivery 
connected. Best Bathing Beach among the Islands. Toboggan Slide 
and Laundry. Address 

HAMILTON CHILD, Supt. of Park. 



HADDOCK'S HISTORY 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. N. Y. 

Is nmv ready for detivery. 

Over 900 pages closely {)rintecl, ably writtea. and contains ir)0 plai.- 
Pif^liT'litif portraits, "Rnrnl Sr-pnps. Vienvs of Buildings, etc. 



HADDOCK'S iNTERNATiONAL SOUVENIR 

INCOMPARABLE, 

UNIQUE, 

THE BEST. 

Price, $S(,00 in pldin cloth; $5.50 in one-half leather. 

Address. 

JNO. A. HADDOCK, 

Watertown, N, Y. 



GREAT RIVER ST. LAWRENCE. 



Grandly Illustrated, Ably Written, Well Printed, 
Good Paper, Neat Binding. 

Prices. $1.50, $2,50 and $5.00, accortling to bindituj. 

Address, 

JNO. A. HADDOCK, 

Watertown, N. Y. 
Or, at 1000 Island Park^ N, Y. 



. > -^ \ "''. ■■.■■ ^ -''y-j 'tSK'vrPV 



St. Lawrence River Skiff, Canoe and Steam Launch Co. 

YOU, like most other visitors 
to the Thousand Islands, are 
probably greatly struck with the 
beauty, safety aud all-round 
merits of the FAMOUS 

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER SKIFF, 
which has no equal, for Its size, 
in the World, for ease in rowing, 
speed and handiness in sailing, 
safety , aud convenience for ang- 
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designers, and the only build- 
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this name. Our would-be imita. 
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on the St. r,awrence River. But even in such faraway States as California, Wash- 
ington and Texas, are those who advertise to build the St. Lawrence River Skiff. 
Every boat of any type built by us bears on bow-deck our natue-plate shield (as 
here shown). 





Wt build every class of pleasure crafts from a canoe to a steam launch, and we 
aim to excel in every type of small pleasure craft. 

We received highest possible awards at the World's Columbia Expo- 
sition in I893. 

We cordially invite any tourists to the Thousand Islands to call at our factory 
and see our boats iu course of construction, also to inspect the fine stock of 
different crafts we keep on hand. 

We will mail our 

FINEL Y IL L USTBA TED CA TALOO UE 

to any address, on receipt ol application. 

©E mh JTTEMn L/^aiNClHI COnfiilNlI.. 

THOUSAND ISLANDS. CLAYTON, N. Y. 
J. G. Fraser, Manager. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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